


This is Me Trying - Part 2

by Jeep_Girl



Series: This is Me Trying [4]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Blue Lantern Kara Danvers, F/F, Green Lantern Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, Supergirl (TV 2015) Season 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:08:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 40,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28432176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeep_Girl/pseuds/Jeep_Girl
Summary: Picking up a month after the ending of This is Me Trying. Part two will follow Lena and Kara as they go on a journey to restore Kara's memories. New foes and allies will be discovered along the way. Lena and Kara may also discover something about themselves as well.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Series: This is Me Trying [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006803
Comments: 98
Kudos: 81





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am officially half way done writing this story, so I wanted to go ahead and post Chapter 1 for everyone. I plan to post a new chapter every few days as I finish writing the story. I hope you all enjoy!

*CRASH* Shards of glass go flying as Lena collides with the window, rolling on the ground and recovering herself. She hears Tomar-Tu giving her instructions through her comms. “Alright, now Lena, summon something to help you fight while also protecting the unarmed civilians.” Lena makes her way through the abandoned building, locating the civilians and then using the green power ring to summon a shield for protection as she leads them out of the building.

It’s been a month since Kara and Lena agreed to take on the power of the Lantern Corp – Lena becoming a member of the Green Lantern Corp and Kara of the Blue Lantern Corp. While Lena wasn’t particularly interested in working with the Lantern Corp after everything they put Kara and her through… Kara and her did eventually agree to at least spend some time training to learn these new abilities. What they didn’t know was that in order to fully harness their abilities, it would require them to be separated for much of their training.

As Lena finishes up the training simulation successfully, she sees Tomar-Tu approach her. “Nicely done Lena.” He gives her a smile, proud of how far she has come in the past four weeks. Lena, however, returns his smile with a stern face. “Tomar-Tu, when do I progress to the next stage of training? When do we begin working with Kara?” Tomar-Tu, unsurprised by this question, replies like he does anytime Kara comes up regarding Lena’s training. “Kara will be involved in your training when she is ready.”

“You are even more insufferable now than when I attacked you for what you did to Kara.” Lena huffs as she walks away, back toward the small ship she is currently sharing with Tomar-Tu. She looks around before going on board, again taking in the backwoods planet she is currently staying on while she trains. There are no inhabitants anymore, though she is able to breathe normally and it has similar gravity to Earth, which makes it suitable for her training. Regardless, seeing the remains of a long-dead civilization is still shocking to Lena. Her curious mind spends her off time investigating the remains, studying the lost people. It’s something that has helped her pass the time and try to not think about Kara. Not that it helps all that much.

Once back on the ship, Lena takes a quick shower and then immediately hides herself away in her own room. It’s been an excruciatingly long four weeks of intense training every day. And Tomar-Tu isn’t exactly the sentient creature she wants to be spending her time with. She sighs, pulling out her journal and thinking back to the day they found out the reason for Kara’s missing memories.

_Lena and Kara had initially agreed to joining the green and blue Lantern Corps, respectively. It was the next day, after Lena had had the entire night to stew, that her emotions came out with a vengeance._

_She had agreed to meet Kara and the Lantern Corp members at Kara’s apartment that morning. She arrived a few minutes early, and Kara decided she needed food, promising to bring Lena her favorite scones from Dublin as she exited out her window as Supergirl. While that moment of caring and affection from Kara put a smile on her face, the appearance of Tomar-Tu, Soranik, and Saint Walker remind her of the reason for her visit this morning._

_“Lena Luthor,” Tomar-Tu greets her while the other two aliens nod to her. She smirks at them, realizing this is the first time she had had a chance alone with them, without Kara. “Listen, I get that you all are supposed to be the like, the good ones, protectors of the universe, whatever. But to be clear – what you did to Kara is completely unacceptable and NOT GOOD. And if I had it my way… you three would be locked tight in an Lcorp facility so far underground… not even Kara could find you.”_

_The three Corps members glance at one another, unsure of how to respond to such a statement. Soranik finally speaks up, trying to ease the tenseness that has suddenly filled the room. “Lena, please understand, this was not the way we wanted it to go. The memory loss was only meant to last a few weeks, maybe a few months, according to Earth time.”_

_Unfortunately for Soranik, she just gave away more information than Lena had had before, which only infuriated her all the more. “Wait! Are you telling me that you all were supposed to return to Earth with Kara’s memories MONTHS AGO? And yet, you waited until now?” Lena had instinctively taken steps towards them as her anger ramped up, talking fervently with her hands._

_“Please, Lena, we can explain.” Soranik said._

_Kara is coming in the window as Lena, tired of half-answers and half-truths, punches Soranik in the face. Kara, in shock, superspeeds and intercedes between Lena and Soranik. “Woah! What’s going on?!” She looks to Lena for answers. Lena glares past Kara at the other aliens. “They were supposed to come back months ago Kara. MONTHS AGO. This means we could have started the search for your memories then instead of now. But no, they were too selfish…”_

_“Lena, the important thing is that we know now…” Kara tries to rationalize with Lena._

_She isn’t hearing Kara though, not really. She looks deeply with love at Kara, though the rest of her is raging with fury. “No, Kara, don’t you get it? The months of agony you went through trying to reconcile your life now with what you actually remembered. And you not having any idea who took your memories or why. They had the answers the entire time! Screw their tests! They should have come to us as soon as the memories got taken.” Lena finishes and lets out a huff, finally looking away from Kara, her eyes brimming with angry tears._

Lena sighs to herself again, her heart aching to see Kara again, to feel her again, to kiss her again.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Concentrate Sister Kara, imagine the wounds closing, imagine the cells working together to heal.” Saint Walker calmly instructs Kara as she sits with her eyes closed, concentrating, trying to harness the healing power of the blue power ring.

Four weeks. Four weeks of meditation, of calmness, of trying to not immediately jump into the fight. That’s the thing Kara has been trying to understand the most while learning the history of the Blue Lantern Corp. Unlike the Green Lantern Corp, who tend to police the universe, the Blue Lanterns are more about bringing hope and compassion to all. While Kara has been excited to learn and embrace the new powers of the blue power ring, she has also struggled with not putting herself immediately into the fray. When that issue became abundantly clear to Saint Walker, he chose instead to have Kara focus on some of the other powers, specifically the healing powers.

Opening her eyes, Kara can see that the gash that Saint Walker had cut on her leg has almost completed vanished. She looks over to see him smiling at her. She has come a long way in four weeks, given that the healing capabilities are quite advanced. “It is time, Sister Kara.”

“Time for what?” She asks curiously, as they both stand. She follows him as he makes his way to the ship. Kara has gotten used to Saint Walker over the past month, and how he will not respond to her questions for extended periods of time. She waits patiently in silence. It is something she is not accustomed to at all. It has really helped her to stop rambling so much. Nowadays, she follows his que in silence, knowing an answer to her question will come if she is patient enough.

As Kara follows him onto the ship, they make their way onto the bridge and he begins to plug in coordinates as he states, “It is time we return to planet Earth.” Kara’s eyes go wide at the unexpected news. She is excited to return home. She has missed Alex and her other friends greatly. Kara isn’t sure how to respond, so she tries to reign in her excitement and simply responds with a hum.

Saint Walker turns towards Kara and says further, “I will alert Tomar-Tu so that he may return with Lena Luthor when their training is complete as well.” The mention of Lena makes Kara’s heart race, and she tries to hide her now beaming smile unsuccessfully. She hasn’t seen or talked to Lena in a month. Finally, she will get to see her, talk to her, touch her, kiss her again. The thought of this, which she has tried to keep out of her mind, is all she can think of now as they prepare the ship to leave and return to Earth. She will finally see the love of her life again.

Kara rushes to the ship and immediately begins preparing for departure. She is excited but has to go at human speed since she is nowhere near a yellow sun. This means her brain has plenty of time to think. She starts to name off all the food she can’t wait to eat again – namely potstickers, pizza, and ice cream. The reminder of her favorite foods reminds her of her last day on Earth a month ago.

_She had just stopped a brewing fight between Lena and the Lanterns Corp._

_“Lena… hey… look at me, please?” She waits for Lena to finally look back at her. Her heart breaks at seeing Lena cry. “I know you’re angry about this entire thing. So am I. Trust me, I am furious that after finally having my life back together, these three aliens show up and throw it completely off kilter. Did I want to heat vision and freeze breath them yesterday when I realized what they had done? Yes, the thought did cross my mind. But – they are our best lead on finding my memories. So, we must trust them. We have to work with them.”_

_Lena takes another slow, deep breath, attempting to calm herself. She nods her head, letting Kara know that while she is still very angry, she agrees that Kara has a point. Kara reaches out and takes Lena’s hand in her own, helping to further ground Lena and not get swept back up by her emotions. The two are lost in each other for a moment, before Kara finally walks, hand-in-hand with Lena to the couch and sits down with her. Kara looks back to the stunned aliens. “Alright, so what’s the plan?”_

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As another day of training comes to an end, Lena and Tomar-Tu walk back together to the ship in silence. Lena is silently reviewing how she could have completed the training that day better, as it was an entirely new simulation, and she did not do well at all. Tomar-Tu, however, is eyeing her curiously.

“Lena Luthor, you have not asked your question today.” This pulls Lena from her own thoughts as she processes his words for a moment before responding. “You mean, asking when I will get to train with Kara?” Tomar-Tu nods in response and is surprised to see Lena give a resigned sigh as a response. “Do you not want to ask today?” He attempts to probe further.

Lena glances at him, surprised by this question. “You have answered me the exact same way for the past 10 days Tomar-Tu. Why would I expect today’s answer to be any different?” Lena is tired today, especially after how terrible the simulation went. She really is not in the mood for his mind games, whatever they may be.

“Lena… ask me.”

She sighs, unsure of the game being played here, but too tired to argue with him, nonetheless. “Fine… when do I progress to the next stage of training? When do we begin working with Kara?”

Tomar-Tu smiles at her. “Now. We leave for Earth tonight.”

Tomar-Tu keeps walking. Lena stands still just outside the ship, frozen in place, unable to process the words that were just spoken to her. Tomar-Tu, once he is a dozen steps ahead of her, finally turns back around. “Lena… come now. We must prepare the ship to depart.” This request snaps Lena out of her inactivity as her brain starts to race with what this means.

_Kara. I get to see Kara again. Finally. I’ll get to hug her and hold her again. And then we will be off on a mission together to get her memories… Lena and Kara… a Super and a Luthor… a Green and Blue Lantern…_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena and Kara are welcomed back to Earth.

Lena steps off the ship and takes in a deep breath. She never thought she would have missed the smell of Earth so much. She takes in the smell of pine from the trees around her, surveying the area. They landed near National City, where they departed from four weeks ago. Lena turns on her phone and immediately texts Sam.

_9:05am Lena: Guess who is back on planet Earth?_

Lena doesn’t have to wait long for a reply. She opens the message and smiles brightly.

_9:06am Sam: OMG LENA!!!!!!! I’ve missed you!!!_

_9:06am Lena: How is Lcorp? Everything still intact? Oh, and how are my boys doing? Has Ruby spoiled them rotten while I was gone?_

_9:07am Sam: I’m doing fine! Thank you for asking._ _😊_

_9:07am Lena: Sam…_

_9:07am Sam: Lcorp is great. Telsa and Edison are adorable and have gotten so big while you were gone! Please say Ruby and I will get to see you soon. We have missed you, you know._

_9:08am Lena: I have missed you both as well. I hope to see you soon. I’ll keep you posted._

_9:08am Sam: Better be soon Luthor!_

_9:09am Lena: <3 <3 <3_

Lena starts to walk off, making her way through the woods, anticipation starting to bubble up in her as her pace picks up. Tomar-Tu said he would remain on the ship for the time being. She has time to herself, and soon, time with Kara, time to reconnect with Sam, time to do whatever she wants for the first time in a month. Her pace quickens even more. She finally comes out through the clearing and is immediately pulled into the biggest, warmest hug.

“Lena!” It’s Kara, who arrived here just a few minutes before her and was waiting not so patiently for her to make it through the woods and out to the clearing. Lena leans into the hug, wrapping her arms around the Kryptonian and turning her head into Kara’s neck, breathing in her most favorite scent.

When they finally break apart the hug, their hands find each other almost automatically, without thinking as they step back and take each other in, green eyes staring into blue. “I’ve missed you,” Lena states quietly with a small smile before leaning in and kissing Kara gently, chastely, on the lips. She rests her forward against Kara’s, but only for a moment as Lena quickly finds Kara’s lips back on hers. This time the kiss is more wanton, and Lena gives in as she feels herself being picked up off the ground and pulled in closer. Neither Kara nor Lena are really sure how long they spend in that moment, wrapped up in each other, reacquainting themselves after being apart for the past month. It could have been five minutes or five hours.

When Lena finds her own feet finally touching the ground again, she is still smiling. “I have missed you too Lee. More than you know.” Kara intertwines their hands and turns towards the road that is just a short distance away. “Alex and Brainy will be here shortly.” When Lena gives Kara a sideway glance with a raised eyebrow, she elaborates. “They alerted me on the comms… they didn’t want to interrupt anything.” Lena chuckles and she sees a DEO issued SUV pull off into the clearing.

“Time to go home,” Lena says as they walk towards the van, hand-in-hand.

Kara and Alex embrace, excited to see each other after such a long time apart. After which, Alex promptly gives Lena a hug, catching Lena a bit off guard, though she is able to recover quickly and return the gesture. Brainy greets both Lena and Kara warmly for him, though Kara doesn’t let him off so easily, as she pulls him in for a hug herself. The four of them head back to National City, excited for Kara and Lena to be reunited with their friends after being gone for so long.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once back, Lena and Kara are surprised to find Alex driving them to Al’s Bar, thinking they would go to Kara’s apartment or the DEO. They eye Alex and Brainy suspiciously. Brainy shrugs his shoulders at Alex.

“I believe the ‘jig’ is up, as you say.” Brainy gives Alex a knowing look. Alex sighs, glancing in the back seat at her sister and the Luthor. “When we got word you were back, we immediately planned a get together. Everyone is here, waiting on you, to surprise you. Can you please act surprised? Or at least excited?” Alex sounds exasperated, like she just asked the two women to run a marathon, not walk into their own surprise party.

Kara attempts to “Relax Alex, I think we are both happy to be back, and will be very excited to see everyone.” She gives Lena’s hand a squeeze in the backseat, out of view from Alex and Brainy. Lena returns the squeeze and gives Kara a reassuring smile. Truth be told, both Kara and Lena were looking forward to finally getting to spend some time together, alone, before venturing out to see everyone. But it looks like that will have to wait for now.

All four exit the van and head inside Al’s Bar, which is usually empty during the day except for a few patrons. Today though, it is being rented out by the Superfriends and company. They enter and hear everyone yelling and rushing over to engulf them in hugs and welcomes. It is all quite overwhelming after being in semi-isolation for the past month. While Lena and Kara had walked in holding hands, they were quickly torn apart from one another handing out hug after hug to their friends and family. The first hour at the bar is quite a blur for both women. Nia and Kelly are there, as well as J’ohnn and M’gann. Sam makes an appearance though to Lena’s disappointment; Ruby is in school. Clark, Lois, and James are even there, along with Andrea and William. Alex tells Kara that Eliza wanted to come but couldn’t and sends her best wishes, hoping to video chat with Kara later that day to catch up. All in all, Lena and Kara are all smiles, glad to see their friends and family again, whether they knew the truth of where the two women had been for the past month didn’t matter. Some knew the truth. Others thought the two had taken off for the past month and had been traveling the globe. An easy story to pass off considering Lena’s wealth and their status as a couple now.

Lena finally makes her way across the bar, finding Kara sitting in a booth by herself. “Hi, come here often?” Lena says as she slides into the seat beside her. Kara smirks at her, putting her arm around Lena, pulling her closer. “Only when my amazingly brilliant world saving girlfriend is with me.” Kara gives her another long kiss, which is interrupted by Alex as she slides into the booth across from them. “You two really should consider getting a room…” Kara glares at her sister while Lena just laughs. “I hope this isn’t too much,” Alex then says, addressing them both. “Everyone was just so excited to have you both back.”

Lena reaches across the table and gives Alex’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Alex, we know, and we appreciate the gesture. It is very nice to see everyone. It might be a bit overwhelming after being somewhat isolated for so long, but we can manage.” Lena and Alex exchange smiles before Alex excuses herself to find Kelly.

The daytime gathering winds down shortly after that, with Lena and Kara again giving out hugs to all their friends and family members as they leave. Some needing to head back to work while others will head back to their lives. It’s hard to believe that the world kept going without both Supergirl and Lena Luthor for an entire month. As the two women exit Al’s Bar, they decide to go back to Kara’s apartment, given it has always felt the homier of the two places. Lena even lets Kara fly her there. Lena wouldn’t admit it to Kara in that moment, but she would tell her years later that she genuinely missed the sensation of being carried by Kara and flying in her arms while she was gone for that month. It was, in Lena’s opinion, the safest way to fly.

Once back at Kara’s apartment, they stand still for a minute, taking in the familiar place, which has been untouched for four weeks. Still holding hands, Kara is suddenly struck with indecisiveness. She isn’t sure what they should do now. She looks over to Lena, who senses Kara’s stare and glances toward her expectantly.

“So… now what?” Kara asks her, hoping she has an answer. Lena looks around the apartment again before looking back to Kara. “Well, what do you want to do?” Lena asks her, clearly putting the ball back in Kara’s court. Kara blushes then, clearly having thoughts she was anxious to say out loud, to share with Lena. Having some understanding of the situation and of her girlfriend, Lena smiles at Kara, pulling their intertwined hands up and kisses the back of Kara’s hand lovingly. This gesture seemed to help soothe Kara’s nerves while also exciting her at the exact same time. How Lena does this to her, she has no idea.

Kara steps into Lena’s personal bubble, regaining her confidence again. Lena smirks approvingly, acknowledging the shift in Kara’s emotions and persona. Kara pulls Lena in for a kiss that quickly escalates as Kara maneuvers Lena back against the door, showering her with desperate kisses.

The two women spend the rest of the evening together at Kara’s, their phones conveniently turned on do not disturb.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While Lena and Kara spend time rediscovering each other, across town, a portal opens, and a lone figure walks through. She is wearing a dark cloak and she displays a scar across her cheek. While that scar is visible, her clothing hides the one running down her back. She smiles menacingly as she looks around, taking in National City. She tilts her head slightly, listening intently at the sounds of the city. Appearing to have homed in on whatever she was listening for, she turns around and begins to walk, her strides confident. She takes another look at her immediately surroundings, and then superspeeds away.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the portal where she came from, there are two individuals working on their own technology that would allow them to follow her. One young man, barely 20 years of age. The other, a familiar face. They are working frantically together, practically in unison, as they build the machine. They don’t speak, solely focused on the task at hand. Hoping beyond hope that their plan will work and that they can fix things before it is too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit of a shorter chapter, but I promise things pick up next chapter. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena and Kara prepare for their mission and have a game night with the gang. It ends in a very unexpected way.

Lena and Kara know they have a lot to do the next day – mainly coming up with a plan and recruiting the team they will be taking with them into space in search of the yellow Corp members who have Kara’s memories. So, when they wake up, both women _want_ to stay in bed and continue reuniting with each other, but they both know they can’t and instead give each other a knowing look. Lena tells Kara to shower first. While she does that, Lena makes them breakfast. Both find it amazingly easy to slip into a domestic life together, finding a routine easily together.

Kara wants Alex and the other Superfriends to stay in National City and continue to protect it while they are gone. Lena agrees with Kara on this. Which is why they decide to reach out to some other friends about joining them on their mission – Sara and Ava.

_9:11am Kara: Hey friend! Lena and I could use you and Ava on a top-secret mission. It requires space travel! You in?_

Kara sends the message and sets her phone down. She looks at Lena and shrugs. “I think it usually takes them a few days to get back-”

_9:12am Time Traveling Assassin Badass: Absolutely. Ava and I will be there soon to debrief._

Kara reads the message aloud and chuckles. “Timeline business must be slow right now.”

_9:12am Time Traveling Assassin Badass: Also, I am glad to see you and Lena are back on track ;)_

Kara sees the second message and blushes. Looking up, she sees that Lena is waiting for her to read the second message. When Lena sees Kara blushing, she tilts her head down and raises an eyebrow. “What’d she say?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ava and Sara arrive a few hours later. Now that Kara is back under a yellow sun, her appetite has fully returned, and she immediately suggests that they order lunch as they fill in Ava and Sara on the events of the past few months. And while Lena and Kara stick to telling them about the Lantern Corps and Kara’s memories, Ava and Sara can’t help but ask.

“Ok but… when did you two happen? Again? This time? The first time? Ugh, time travel and memory loss make all this very confusing,” Ava rambles on, looking to Sara who just smirks at her before jumping in. “I think what my co-Captain here is trying to ask is, when did the two of you become official. The last time we were here, I know I dropped several bombs on you Kara.”

Kara instinctively reaches for Lena’s hand without looking. “You did, and it was after you left that we also discovered that my memories weren’t just lost but stolen. And it was shortly after that that I decided I needed to get some space from everything… so I left National City for a few months. I went home to Midvale. I eventually came back… though I didn’t work up the courage to seek Lena out right away…”

“Or at all, Darling…” Lena cuts in. “Alex invited me to your birthday party…”

“At my request, thank you very much.”

Ava and Sara laugh at the antics and banter between Lena and Kara. “Well, I am glad to see it all worked out,” Sara says. “Now, how about we talk about exactly how we will be traveling through space and what the plan is for getting Kara’s memories back.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The four women spend the day planning and making arrangements for their potentially lengthy mission. It is in mid-afternoon when the group decides that they will leave the next day. This fact prompts Kara to send a text out to her friend group inviting everyone over for a game night.

And so, that evening everyone shows up – J’onn, M’gann, Alex, Kelly, Brainy, and Nia. At Lena’s request, Andrea is also invited. Lena and Kara are slightly surprised when she shows up with William. Apparently, while they were off Earth, the two had bonded over the loss of Andrea’s former lover and William’s best friend. Ava and Sarah are excited to join in as well, enjoying the change of pace from the kind of “games” the Legends play on the ship.

The groups have been going strong for the past two hours, playing games as couples and thoroughly enjoying it. Of course, Kara and Lena were winning most of them, though Alex and Kelly did win a round of charades. Kara and Lena will take to the grave that they might have maybe decided before everyone arrived to make sure Alex wins at least once. Otherwise, she will get frustrated and overly competitive with everything.

It was at this time that there is a knock on the door. Kara, being hungry again despite having an early supper before everyone arrived, superspeeds to the door, expecting the food to have finally arrived. She opens the door without checking it, either through her peephole or using her powers. Which is why, when she opens the door, her eyes go wide at the glowing red object in front of her.

Kara shuts the door quickly and turns to the group, though no one but Lena sees her, the apparent apprehension on her face. Lena immediately stands up and makes her way to the door.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Kara looks at Lena, taking in how considerate, kind, and beautiful she is, knowing that if she doesn’t act fast, she is about to lose control of her impulses. “Alex!” She suddenly yells, causing Lena to jump. This snaps Alex out of the conversation she was having with Andrea and Kelly, seeing the alerted look on both of their faces, she is on her feet and pulling her weapon from its holster as she approaches them cautiously. “What is it Kara?”

“Red Kryptonite, the other side of the door.” Kara’s voice is calm, but her eyes are full of fear. Alex gasps. “What do we do Alex?” Her voice pleading, Kara instinctively reaches for Lena’s hand for support. Lena gladly gives it, still trying to understand exactly what is happening, she looks at Alex. “What can I do?”

At this point, Alex has switched to DEO mode, she turns to the group. “Everyone, so sorry, we have a work emergency to attend too… something we need to get taken care of quickly.” She turns back to her sister and whispers so only Kara and Lena care hear her. “Kara, we need to get you to the DEO and into a containment room quick while Lena and I work on synthesizing the antidote.” She turns to the group to see J’onn and Brainy approaching them. Again, in hushed tones she says “J’onn, can you and Brainy collect the kryptonite on the other side of the door and bring it to the DEO. We want to make sure this is the same exact kind as last time before proceeding with the antidote. The two men nod, ready to follow orders. They slip by and out the door in an instant. The three women wait thirty seconds before Kara starts to get antsy, her eyes searching Alex’s face for the cue to leave. When Alex finally nods, she slips out with Lena’s hand still in hers. Alex takes a moment to update Nia privately, who volunteers to stay at Kara’s and make sure everyone is gone and the place is cleaned up. She then plans to join everyone at the DEO. Alex sighs in relief, thanking her for the help before she also quickly leaves the apartment.

Once outside, Kara silently leads Lena into a back alleyway, where she cues her Supersuit to materialize. Kara looks at Lena, a clear battle raging inside her head. “Kara, what is it Darling?” Kara bites her lip anxiously. “You should probably go with Alex instead of flying there with me.” Lena looks at Kara, clearly confused. “It’s just… the longer I go after the exposure… the rasher my actions become… I don’t want to hurt you.” Lena cups Kara’s cheek gently, tiptoeing to kiss Kara chastely. “Kara, I don’t think you would ever be capable of hurting me.” Kara lets out her breath slowly, still torn on her course of actions. In that moment though, she doesn’t want to lose the support that she has by her now. She scoops Lena up on her arms and takes off into the air.

Once in the air, Lena dares to ask the question that has been burning in her mind. “Kara, what does red kryptonite do to you?” She feels Kara instinctively tense at the mention of the compound. “Before you moved here… there were a few days that I wasn’t quite myself… or maybe I am more myself… it’s hard to explain… but the substance affects my brain instead of my body… it takes away my own inhibitions I guess… it makes me… more Kryptonian in a way… My emotions and emotional connections don’t have as much of a hold on me… but I also become more impulsive… more prone to listen to the darkest voice in my head… so my actions are… not great.”

It’s in that moment that Lena has a memory flash through her mind. “Is that what happened when you dropped Cat Grant off of Catco?” Lena recalls seeing it all over the news, shortly followed by Cat’s personal statement denouncing Supergirl. She recalls the events, and even started to question her decision to move to National City, but it was a few days later that Cat Grant was back to praising the hero, and the news talking about Supergirl’s mind being altered during her reign of terror on the city. Lena never knew exactly what caused it all.

Kara hums in response before speaking again. “Imagine if you had no control of your behavior… that all of your darkest, most selfish impulses resulted in engaging in doing exactly what those urges told you to do… that’s what red kryptonite does to me.” Lena looks up at the Super, who is flying determinedly, not chancing a glance down. Lena gives Kara a purposeful squeeze with her hands around her neck and shoulders. “We will figure it out Kara, I promise.”

They find themselves at the DEO in just a few minutes. As they land on the balcony, Kara pauses. Lena turns around to see why Kara has stopped walking. She sees Kara, standing and staring at the entrance into the building. Lena takes the two steps back to Kara. “Hey, you ok?” Lena asks Kara. Her voice filled with dread she can’t hide. Kara looks her in the eyes and Lena gasps when she sees the red hint pass over her face briefly. Lena knows that look well, it is usually green and involves Kara grunting in agony. Lena still isn’t sure exactly what red kryptonite does, but it seems to scare Kara more than green kryptonite does, which makes Lena even more anxious.

“Do we really need to go in there?” Kara asks, pulling Lena from her scientific contemplation. Lena looks more intently at Kara. She sees _her_ Kara, but she is filled with a level of trepidation that she has never felt around Kara before, which escalates her worry all the more. “Hey, remember Alex is going to meet us here and we are going to fix this.” Lena slowly puts her hand out for Kara. Kara looks down at her hand and then back up into Lena’s eyes, before finally taking Lena’s hand in her own and following Lena as she goes into the DEO. Kara sighs as they make it to the containment rooms. She gives Lena a slow deliberate kiss before she steps in and nods to Lena, who punches in the code, sealing Kara in.

“Alex and the others should be arriving soon; I am going to go and get settled in the lab. Ok?” Kara only nods as she turns her back to Lena and walks away. Lena grimaces before turning and heading for the science labs, a new look of determination on her face.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s a good six hours before Lena is confident in the antidote she produced. Luckily, with the research done by Eliza the last time this happened, she was able to synthesize it quickly with the help of Alex. As they approach the containment cell that Kara is in, both women instinctively slow down, taking the last few steps into view slowly. Lena wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t this.

Kara is sitting on the floor in the middle of the cell in a meditative position, her eyes are closed, and she is breathing slowly. But it’s the smirk on her face that alarms Lena the most. A smirk that crosses her face as she opens her eyes and looks at the women in front of her.

Alex gulps, “Kara… we have the antidote.” Kara is at the very front of the containment cell in a nanosecond, glaring deeply into Alex’s eyes first, still wearing that smirk. It is an expression Lena has never seen on Kara, ever.

“And if I don’t want to take it?” The question comes out of Kara’s mouth, Lena sees it. It sounds like Kara. Lena hears that. But the way she talks, the tone in her voice, it is a way she has never heard the Super talk like before. And for Lena, it is quite alarming.

Alex, however, has been through this before. “Kara, please. I’d rather you take it willingly this time.” Lena hears the tone in Alex’s voice, stern yet pleading. She makes a mental note to ask the sisters about the first red kryptonite incident once this is resolved.

It’s in that moment that Kara’s eyes shift to Lena. She doesn’t say anything at first, simply takes a few seconds to take in Lena in her entirety, from head to toe, before making her way back to Lena’s emerald eyes, staring into them deeply before finally speaking. “What about you Lena? Do _you_ want me to take the antidote?”

Enraptured by this new version of Kara, Lena is curious at the question. She finds herself asking “Why wouldn’t I want you to take it Kara?” Again, the Super smirks. “You. Me. We are miles above everyone else on this rock of a planet, far superior in every way. Surely we could run this world far better than its current leaders.”

Lena subconsciously takes a half step back. “World domination? Is that what you think I want?” Kara laughs. But it isn’t the light, sunny laugh of Kara Danvers that Lena knows so well. No, this laugh is more mischievous, a low guttural chuckle. Lena knows Kara can hear her heartbeat shoot through the roof. She looks at Alex who shrugs, unsure how to proceed without forcing the antidote on her.

Lena regaining her composure, walks right up to the invisible barrier between her and Kara. “Kara, if you know me as well as you think you do, you know that I have no interest in running the world.” This harsh statement seems to cut through to Kara, as her eyes, locked with Lena’s, flicker briefly. Lena almost wonders if she imagined it, imagined Kara’s eyes softening as if they were just seeing Lena for the first time. But then, she sees Kara’s veins again glow red, the kryptonite apparently deepening its hold over the Kryptonian. And just as quickly, her eyes change again.

And in that moment, all hell breaks loose.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Without spoiling the chapter... come find out exactly what happened the moment "all hell broke loose" at the end of the last chapter. :)

To Lena and Alex, it all happened in a blur, too quickly for their human senses to take in exactly what happened. All they knew is that one moment, Lena thought maybe she had gotten through to Kara. And in the next moment, she was knocked to the ground as dust and debris go flying. It’s a few seconds in which her ears are ringing as she tries to get her bearings. She is pretty sure she can hear fighting, but it is very muffled. Lena attempts to stand up when suddenly, there is a figure standing right in front of her. They are young, maybe 25, dark hair with piercing blue eyes. And they are smirking. Unsure of who this person is, Lena freezes for a split second. But that’s all this newcomer needed. In that second, she reaches out and Lena feels a slight prick in her shoulder. She looks at her shoulder and back up to the woman, confusion written on her face.

That’s the last thing Lena remembers.

Alex was thrown the opposite direction from the explosion. Despite her ears ringing and the impaired vision, she manages to roll up into a crouch, pulling her weapon from its holster as she does. She tries to take in her surroundings when suddenly she is pushed to the ground from behind, grunting as she goes down. Not just pushed though, this was no human push, she immediately knows that. Alex attempts to turn around and fight whoever it is, but she is quickly and easily pinned to the ground on her stomach. She can’t see who is on top of her, but she feels a pinprick on her neck. And very quickly, the world goes black.

Kara is surprised when the wall behind Alex and Lena explodes open. She sees a figure step out and quickly go for Alex, incapacitating her quickly and easily. Kara knows the forcefield keeping her captive is still up. She is stuck in this room. And it doesn’t bother her all that much until the figure superspeeds to Lena and knocks her out as well. Somewhere in the back of Kara’s mind, alarm bells start to ring. Seeing Lena in danger makes Kara react. She pushes on the invisible barrier attempting to break free of her confines to help her soulmate, to no avail. She starts surveying the room, assuming DEO agents will storm the room any second. But it’s too late, Kara knows it when she sees the figure, easily carrying Lena and Alex over each shoulder, heading back towards the giant crater in the wall.

“Hey! Hey! Come back here!” Kara yells, her voice more demanding than panicked due to the influences of the red kryptonite. The figure pauses at the self-made exit and turns to Kara, a wicked grin on her face. “Time to make a decision, Supergirl.”

And with that, the figure superspeeds away, carrying the two most important people in Kara’s life.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kara spends the next 20 minutes attempting to convince Brainy, now acting director of the DEO, to let her out of her cage so she can hunt down whoever took Lena from her. Brainy, however, refuses to do so unless she takes the antidote willingly. And so, they are at an impasse. Kara has no intent on taking the antidote, knowing that the flood of emotion that follows would only slow her down and cause her to second guess everything. Right now, she needs to act, not feel.

It’s a few minutes later that the call comes into the DEO. The same dark-haired woman is on the screen. Behind her is Alex, but no Lena. Kara’s jaw tightens as she clenches her teeth in frustration, already furious that someone had the audacity to kidnap Lena.

“Supergirl. Like I said, you have a choice to make. You can’t save them both. Removing one from their location will automatically detonate the other location. Choose wisely.”

“That’s it?” Kara demands, already knowing the answer. Brainy and Nia glance at each other. Nia speaks up. “Who is she? Why would she do this? And is she the one who exposed you to the red kryptonite?” Once Nia started asking questions, she had difficulty stopping.

But the portal suddenly opening up in Kara’s cell does the job for her. For the second time that day, a newcomer arrives on the scene. This time, a young man comes tumbling out of the portal, landing beside Kara, who acts immediately, picking the stranger up and pinning him to the wall by the throat. She is about to start interrogating him when suddenly both of his arms fly forward. Only having one free arm, Kara can only block the one on her left. The other hand connects with Kara’s face, but it isn’t punching her. Instead, when the arm drops, there is a patch of something put on her skin. Kara drops the man and attempts to remove the patch, but the man, now free, tackles her to keep her from pulling the patch off. Kara rolls out of the tackle and stands up, intrigued.

“You aren’t human,” is Kara’s first observation. Kara can tell, he isn’t quite powerful enough to be a Kryptonian or a Daxamite, but still much stronger than humans. The man smiles at her, but it is not a menacing smile like she saw on the woman earlier. Kara takes him in now for the first time. He has blond hair and green eyes, is slightly taller than Kara. “Not completely, no. Thank you for noticing.” The man now seems to be soaking in every detail of Kara as he smiles, though she is too concerned with the patch on her face to notice.

“What did you put on my face?” She asks, knowing that any motion to remove it will result in the man immediately attacking her again. He clearly isn’t trying to physically harm her because even when he tackled her, he didn’t actually try to hurt her. “I’m trying to heal you,” he responds cryptically. Kara, suddenly tired of talking, lunges at the man. He sidesteps her and tries to keep out of reach of her in the small cell. Nia and Brainy stand on the outside, unsure whether they should actually open the door or not, unsure of exactly who they would even be trying to help if they did. They end up watching helplessly from the outside.

It’s only a minute or two before Kara suddenly stops fighting, looking at the person in front of her, her eyes suddenly shift, returning to their normal state. Kara glances from the man to Brainy and Nia outside the cell as her memories of the past hour flood her brain. Kara deflates to the ground. “I’m sorry for attacking you… you were just trying to help,” she mutters. The man crouches next to Kara, putting a hand on her shoulder, causing Kara to look at him. “Hey, you’re back to your normal self. No harm, no foul.” He is smiling gently as he says it.

Kara’s eyes go wide in that moment as she feels the sense of urgency at the memory of the video of Alex. “Oh no, Lena, Alex, we need to rescue them!” Kara jumps up at this, walking towards the front of the containment cell, expecting Brainy to open it for her. She is surprised when he doesn’t.

“Brainy, we have to get to them!” Brainy and Nia look at each other before looking back to Kara. “I agree. But we have no idea who your new roommate is, or what he gave you exactly. What if the effects are not permanent and you slowly revert to the version of Kara we just had, the one under direct influence of red kryptonite?” Kara pauses and sighs, knowing Brainy is right. She knows too that he is being the more logical than she is right now. Kara turns to the stranger. “Who are you? What did you do to me?”

The man, now standing, walks up to Kara. “May I?” Kara nods and he proceeds to remove the patch. “This patch is the way we administer the antidote for red kryptonite exposure. It is like the version you use, except in patch form because while your skin is bullet proof, it can still take in trace amounts of chemicals via the patch on your skin.”

“How do I know I can trust you?” Kara asks, still unsure about this new stranger. “My apologies, Kara Zor-El Danvers. My name is Liam. And I am from the future.” Kara looks him over closely. “How far into the future?” Liam pauses, internally debating on how much exactly to reveal to Kara. “Thirty years, give or take a year or two.”

At this point, Nia jumps in. “Who was the other person? Were they also from the future? And why are you here now?” Liam smiles, trying to process all the questions. “I am here to help. The person who came before me… her name is Kiera… and she is from my time. She came back to wreak havoc. She didn’t think I could follow her, but I managed it.” Kara stares directly into Liam’s eyes, trying to see into his soul, to see whether she can trust him or not. In the end, she decides she doesn’t really have a choice if she wants to rescue Alex and Lena. Kara turns back to Brainy and Nia. She nods her head. Brainy opens the containment cell. Both Kara and Liam exit the cell and follow the other two as they make their way to a conference room to discuss the next steps.

“We don’t have much time. How are we supposed to rescue them both?” Kara asks as she paces in the room, her anxiety setting in. “She doesn’t know I am here yet, so we have that advantage,” Liam offers. “Can you use the portal thing?” Kara asks hopeful. Liam frowns. “Unfortunately, no. That was a one-way ticket kind of thing. I do not have the technology here with me to recreate the portal.” Kara blinks back tears. “Ok… ok… so what can we do?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group ultimately decided to pull in everyone possible, including Sara and Ava to help with the rescue mission. The deal was that Kara would rescue Lena, with J’onn and Brainy on standby nearby in case she needs help. Liam would rescue Alex with M’gann and Nia on standby. They would remove Alex and Lena at exactly the same time. With Liam and Kara both using their superspeed, they had hope that they could escape the blast radius in time.

What they didn’t anticipate was Lena not being alone. As Kara entered the building, she saw Lena tied up and gaged in a chair, her eyes widening when they see Kara. There was the woman standing next to Lena, a hand on Lena’s shoulder nonchalantly, as Kara approached.

“I figured you would have been long gone by now,” Kara states, daring to take a few steps. The woman, Kiera, chuckles. “Please, I knew you would choose Lena. It’s always Lena for you, Supergirl.” Kara arches her brow, her signature crinkle appearing. “What does that mean?” Kiera simply sneered at Kara. “Why did you do this?” Kara asks demandingly. “Ha! You are always just so clueless, aren’t you?” Kara knew she was running out of time. She needed to get to Lena and quickly. “Fine. Don’t answer the questions. Just let me have Lena.”

“So eager to get rid of your sister? It’s almost like they released you while still being under the influence of red K. But we both know that version of you wouldn’t still be talking… Here, let me provide you with some motivation.”

And with those words, Kiera plunges a dagger she had hidden in her hand, deep into Lena’s chest.

Kara immediately reacts, plowing into Kiera and flying away from Lena with her. Once they crashed out of the building and up into the sky, the two women disentangled briefly. “J’onn, get to Lena, now!” And with that, Kiera and Kara engaged in a heated battle in the sky. Meanwhile, J’onn took over rescuing Lena and coordinated with Liam to rescue Alex.

Kara isn’t sure how long the fight lasts, her focus being split as she wants to rush to Lena’s side. She hopes and prays to Rao that J’onn saves her. As Kara is swirling in the air, trading punches with Kiera, she hears and feels the explosion from behind her.

“No!” Kara yells and speeds off back to the warehouse. Kiera smirks and flies off the other direction.

Kara rushes into the fire, using her x-ray vision to scan for survivors. She doesn’t see anyone. “J’onn? Brainy? Anybody?” Kara practically yells into her comms. There is nothing but static for a moment and Kara starts to panic. She finally hears Nia on the comms, “We got them Kara.” She lets out a huge breath, relieved that Alex and Lena are rescued. She takes off into the air, scanning for Kiera but finds no signs of her. She then rushes back to the DEO, eager to make sure Lena is ok.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once at the DEO, Kara rushes to the medical wing. She finds Alex first, who is awake. She rushes in to hug her sister. “Alex! Oh, thank Rao, are you ok?” Alex returns the hug. “Yes, I’m fine Kara.” Kara then pulls back from her sister. “Where is Lena?” Alex frowns at the question and takes in a slow deliberate breath. “She is in surgery right now. The knife did some internal damage to her lung. They needed to go in and repair it.” Kara’s eyes go wide as she sinks to the floor, her eyes filling with tears. Alex carefully gets off the gurney and sits down beside her, pulling her into a sideways hug.

“This is all my fault…” Kara mumbles into her sisters’ shoulder, her tears becoming more intense. “Hey, it isn’t your fault that a completely unknown danger came and did what they did. We will figure this out, ok?”

At that moment, Liam entered the room, seeing the two sisters on the floor, he freezes. “Oh… sorry… I just wanted to check on A… Alex…” Kara wipes her eyes quickly and stands up, turning to help Alex slowly rise up. “It’s ok, Liam. We were just talking,” Kara says unconvincingly. “So, you want to catch me up on who exactly who this is?” Alex asks her sister. Kara smiles and explains what Liam had told her earlier about coming back from the future. Alex takes it all in with a skeptical, untrusting look on her face.

Once Kara is done explaining, Alex turns to Liam. “So why did she come back, exactly? Why now to this time?” Alex is suspicious, despite being rescued by Liam herself. She stares hard at him, ready to read any of the miniscule facial or posture changes that may indicate whether he is being honest or not. “She came back now because she knows Kara doesn’t have her memories. So, she doesn’t remember her last encounter with Kiera… when she went into the future with the Legends.” Alex can tell that Liam is holding something back and is about to question him further when Brainy walks into the room and announces, “Lena is out of surgery. She is awake.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't have Red K Kara long in this story... but maybe some day I'll do a red K Kara story. :)
> 
> Come chat on twitter or insta @forever_angsty


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara reunites with Lena. Alex and Liam talk. Some secrets about the future are revealed.

Kara is up and out the door before anyone else had fully processed Brainy’s statement. She rushes down the hall, seeing Nia standing outside a closed door. Nia gives her a gentle smile. “She’s in here.” Nia steps to the side to allow Kara entry, though Kara pauses at the door, lingering, her face crinkled in concern. Nia glances at her and quiet says, “She is waiting for you.” Kara steels her facial expressions, gives Nia a nod, and enters.

This isn’t the first time Kara has seen Lena close to death. But it is the first time it is directly her fault. Liam confirmed just as much. She sees Lena sitting up in her bed. Lena gives her a warm smile. Kara slowly approaches.

“Hi,” Lena says, still smiling, glad to see that Kara is ok. “How are feeling?” Kara asks as she pauses just out of reach of Lena, who gives her a quizzical look when she stops walking. “I’m feeling like I just had a three-inch knife jammed into my chest,” Lena spews out, her sarcasm getting the better of her. Kara visibly cringes. “I’m sorry.” She wills herself not to cry again. Lena, seeing how distressed Kara is and softens. “Come sit with me?” Kara nods and approaches slowly. Lena takes Kara’s hand in her own, feeling the warmth radiating from Kara and into her own body. With the touch, Kara visibly relaxes a little.

“You know this isn’t your fault, right? We will find whoever this new villain is and figure out what it is that they want.” Lena gives her hand a gentle squeeze. Kara looks at Lena, her eyes filled with remorse. “But it is my fault, Lena. It’s my fault that they are here in the first place. I just can’t remember them…” Kara trails off, trying to maintain her composure before she continues to tell Lena what happened with Liam and what he told her about them coming from the future, and that she apparently met Kiera there. Lena listens intently, her mind racing, going through all the potential scenarios and reasons for why this person would come back to here and now.

“Kara, you are not responsible for other people’s actions. This Kiera person, whatever her reasons and intentions, we will figure them out and we will take care of her.” Kara nods, knowing rationally that Lena is right. But that doesn’t make her feel any better. “You almost died,” Kara says in a hushed tone as she stares at her feet. Lena reaches up with her free hand and cups Kara’s chin, directing her gaze back to Lena. “You and I both know that you would never let that happen.” Lena says it so confidently that Kara almost believes her.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Alex continues to question Liam.

“What happened in the future when Kara was there?” Liam lets out a long breath. “It’s… complicated.”

“Well, explain it to me then.” Alex’s concern for trusting Liam is growing more and more by the second. “I can’t say too much…” Alex is quick, finally having enough of the dodgy answers, she slams Liam against a table, taking him by surprise, his eyes going wide. Alex knows he could use his powers. As much as this is an intimidating move, this is also a test to see whether Liam does use his powers on her. “Enough with the cryptic answers. You will tell me what I want to know, now.” Liam only nods and doesn’t attempt to get out of Alex’s hold. Satisfied, she releases him.

“The stories do not quite do you justice, you know. You really are a badass Aunt Alex.” Alex looks at him, her eyebrow raised. “What is that supposed to mean? Aunt?” Liam looks around, confirming that the door is shut and that they are alone. “You have to promise you won’t tell Kara… or Lena….” Liam’s eyes are pleading. “I didn’t come back just to stop Kiera… I’m hoping we can change what happens to Kiera… my sister… so that she never becomes this version of herself…” Alex takes a step back, sinking into a chair, trying to process everything that Liam just said. Liam takes a tentative step towards her with a half-smile on his face. He pulls up a chair, sitting down across from her. “I know this is a lot to take in…”

“So… you… you’re my…”

“Nephew, yeah.” He smiles proudly. “I know it isn’t by blood, but mom always tells me I somehow got my spunk from you.”

“You’re… mom?”

“Lena… yeah. She loves to tell me all the stories of you running the DEO and taking down rogue aliens or terrorist humans.”

It is in that moment that it dawns on Alex. “Wait, am I… am I not alive?” Liam sighs, trying to find the words to explain the events. “Once Kiera returned and started her rampage… she started with those closest to Kara and Lena instead of targeting them directly…” Alex’s eyes go into a daze as she nods, taking in the information. Liam tries to comfort Alex by providing more information. “Your wife and children made it out, though. Kara made sure of it. She gave her life to make sure we all got out.”

The news didn’t exactly do as Liam had hoped. “Wait, Kara is dead too?!?” Liam winces at the reminder of the future he came from. While it had been three years, the loss of his mother and aunt still felt raw. “It’s… a long story… suffice it to say that I am here now and hope to change Kiera’s life course so that none of this has to happen.”

Alex stares at Liam, taking in the new information, trying to comprehend the fact that Kara has not one but two children in the future. “So… what are you going to tell Kara and Lena? You know it will break their hearts to learn who Kiera actually is.” Liam sighs heavily. “Which is why, I hadn’t planned on telling them…” Alex regards Liam for a moment, clearly thinking about his plan. “You have to tell them, at least about who Kiera is. Otherwise, I’m concerned what Kara might do to her when she finds her.” Liam nods, taking the information in. Liam knows his mother; he knows she would never intentionally kill. But perhaps Alex is right.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kara is currently curled up on the bed with Lena, an arm protectively draped around Lena’s waist. They had drifted to sleep wrapped up in each other. They had been asleep maybe 20 minutes when Kara awakes to the sound of the door opening to Lena’s room. Kara tenses her body, fully prepared to protect the person she loves most. She only relaxes when she sees Alex. Behind her follows Liam.

“Hey sis, how is she?” Kara slowly extracts herself from Lena’s clutches, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead as she removes herself from the bed. Lena murmurs something incoherent in her sleep, rolling towards Kara in her slumber. Kara smiles, cheeks reddening as she turns around and walks to Alex and Liam. They follow Kara as she motions for them to leave the room so Lena can sleep.

“Her body is still recuperating. I want to try to use my Lantern powers to heal her when she wakes up.” Alex nods, excited to finally see her sister’s new powers in action. Liam has a knowing smile on his face. “That’s awesome Kara. Before you do that… Liam has something to tell you.”

Liam’s smile fades. A thought passes through his mind.

_Aunt Alex, always the overly direct one of the family_

He turns to Kara after giving Alex a slight glare. “There is something you should know about Kiera… I didn’t tell you this before… but… but she is your daughter.”

Kara stares at Liam, lost for words. She eventually starts laughing. Alex and Liam glance at each other, clearly confused by her response. Kara looks to Alex. “Oh, come on Alex, you believe this? Come on, how could I ever raise someone so angry and wicked?” Alex gives her sister a pitying smile before nodding to Liam to tell her the rest. “Well… technically you didn’t raise her… but she is your biological daughter.”

“Why wouldn’t I have raised her?”

“Well… because… because she was kidnapped when she was an infant… you never found her… and then she showed up twenty years later, hellbent on revenge for being abandoned.”

Kara looks at Liam then to Alex, then back to Liam and then again to Alex. She finally settles on looking around the hallway. “But… why would someone do that? And how could I not find her?” Liam gives her a soft smile. “You and Lena looked everywhere, quickly realizing that she was being moved through time to avoid detection from you. Being moved in time meant there were infinite possibilities for when she could be. But you never stopped looking…”

Kara again stares at Liam, mouth slightly agape. She looks to Alex, who is giving her a soft, sympathetic look as she tries to process this information. The next thing Kara is aware of, is the fact that she is sitting on the floor where she was standing moments ago. Alex is knelt down next to her, talking to her, but she has a hard time understanding her. Kara’s brain currently bombarded by so much information that she can’t comprehend the noises coming from her sister. Alex then puts a hand on Kara’s chest and with her other hand, pulls one of Kara’s hands to her chest. She looks directly into Kara’s eyes, trying to get Kara to match her breathing. It takes a few more seconds before Kara understands what Alex is trying to do. She finally starts to match her breathing with Alex’s, watching her sister’s chest move up and down. It’s a minute before she realizes she must have just had a panic attack. She had several of them when she first came to Earth, often being overwhelmed by her enhanced senses.

Finally feeling like she can speak again, Kara looks to Alex apologetically. “Sorry… I just… guess that was really overwhelming for me… I haven’t had a panic attack like that since we were teenagers…”. The look on Alex’s face though, makes Kara question her own statement. Another memory she doesn’t have, great. She lets out a long, tired sigh. Looking up, she sees Liam standing a few feet away, watching her with a look she can’t quite decipher.

“I… I have to tell Lena when she wakes up.” Kara mumbles this as she stands up, steadying herself to go back to Lena’s room. Both Alex and Liam nod at her, knowing this is something Kara wants to do herself… alone.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lena wakes up a short while later to find Kara sitting next to her bed. She frowns as she asks, “Why are you not in bed with me anymore?” Kara scoots the chair, so it is right next to the bed and takes Lena’s hand and intwines it with her own, gently rubbing the back of it with her thumb. “I had to talk to Alex and Liam, but I’m back now.” She smiles at Lena, giving her best positive attitude she can muster knowing what is to come.

Lena sees right through it.

“What’s wrong?” She asks as she sits up in the bed, wincing slightly at the pain from her stab wound. Kara sighs. “Liam told me more about who Kiera is… there is no easy way to say this… so I think it’s best if I just say it… just put it out there for you to process.”

“Kara, darling, you are rambling.” Lena smiles as she says it, knowing that will help Kara focus and say whatever it is she needs to say.

“Right… sorry…” She sighs again. “Kiera is actually… our daughter.”

Lena stares at Kara, unmoving for a good ten seconds. “Lena?” Kara finally ventures. “Yes?” is the only reply she receives. “Did you hear me?” Kara asks, giving Lena’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Yes.” Again, Lena isn’t giving Kara much to go off of. She has no idea what Lena is thinking or feeling. “Do you have anything else to say in response to this new information?” Lena doesn’t speak for another ten seconds. “I swear if any of our Lantern friends knew about this and didn’t tell us…” Lena trails off, leaving her exact threat to be imagined. Kara swallows hard. “Hey… I’m sure they didn’t… surely they would have told us…” Lena’s facial expressions finally change, settling into her well-known eyebrow raise, indicating her complete disbelief of the previous statement. “Kara, I know they have been training us for the past month. But I really don’t trust them. They manipulated us and then held information pertinent to your life, to our lives, from us. And for what? To prove we are worthy of some magical powers from a ring. That is bullshit and you know it.”

Kara doesn’t argue with Lena on this point. She knows Lena has a hard time trusting people once she knows they have lied to her. “Look, now that we have Liam on our side, we have insider information about the future. So, after we stop Kiera, we can take him with us, along with Sara and Ava, to get my memories back. This will be our first official mission as members of the Lantern Corp, no longer training, but on our own.”

Lena attempts to take a deep breath, wincing slightly at the pain again. “Fine. But just so we are clear, you are the only one I trust.” Kara smiles, knowing that with some time, she will learn to trust the others.

“Alright, now, let me see about using this new power of mine to heal you, ok?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While Kara is working on healing Lena, Alex and Liam are interrupted by Brainy. “Excuse me, Director Danvers. We have just pinged an unknown alien spacecraft in Earth’s atmosphere.”

Alex stands up and follows Brainy back to the command center of the DEO. Liam follows behind quietly. “Alright, see if we can establish contact, can you tell where it came from?” Brainy sits back down and starts typing away on the computer. “That’s just it, Director, it isn’t that the ship is coming to Earth… but that it is leaving, heading into deep space.” Brainy continues to type away. “I am attempting to figure out it’s destination.”

“Kiera?” Alex asks, looking to Liam. She never did believe in coincidences. “But why would she be going into space? And how did she get a ship?” Alex continues her questioning.

“Perhaps this is the true reason for her return. She needed Supergirl out of the way to make sure she could accomplish her task.” Liam knows he is speculating. But he has also spent the last three years chasing his sister. She is smart, clever, and thinks things through. She inherited her patience from Lena, that is for sure.

Alex nods as she says, “alright, let’s not assume it is her. Try to figure out its destination Brainy. Let’s also do a scan of Earth with the satellites and see if we can detect any Kryptonian signatures aside from Kara, Kal, and Liam. Brainy nods and starts the scan as he continues to calculate the trajectory of the ship.

It’s a short while later that Brainy confirms that they cannot detect any other Kryptonian signatures on Earth. And while this isn’t a guarantee, they are feeling confident that Kiera had some other, grander plan. “Let’s let Lena and Kara know. Perhaps their mission to recover Kara’s memories will be starting sooner than they realize.” It’s the reminder of Kara’s missing memories that sparks Liam’s memory and his eyes go wide. Unfortunately for him, Alex notices.

“What is it?” She asks urgently.

“Maybe we should talk privately,” he responds. Alex nods and the two head for a conference room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam tells Kara and Lena about the future, which also happens to be part of Kara's past that she can't remember.

The next day, Lena and Kara are back at Kara’s apartment, preparing for the trip. They planned to meet Ava and Sara at the clearing near the ships.

“How are you feeling?” Kara asks, still unsure about her healing abilities as a Blue Lantern. Lena gives her a soft, understanding smile. “Darling, you healed me just fine, I promise.” Kara gives her a skeptical look. “Are you sure?” Lena waltzes over from the kitchen where she was making tea, to Kara who is sitting on the couch. “Why don’t I demonstrate to you just how fine I am?” Lena has an alluring smirk as she straddles Kara on the couch. Kara smiles, placing her hands on Lena’s hips and pulling her in closer, inviting her to continue her “demonstration.” Lena kisses Kara deeply, as Kara’s arms wrap around Lena, enjoying the intimate moment.

They are suddenly interrupted with a knock at the door.

Lena pulls back slightly and scowls at the disruption. Kara grins at her, “That must be Liam.” Lena sighs, letting out her frustration as Kara stands up while holding Lena, and then gentle setting her down with a kiss on the nose. Lena shakes her head at Kara’s adorableness, though she can’t wipe the smile off her own face after Kara’s display of affection.

Kara makes her way to the door, using her x-ray vision first, to reveal Liam and Alex. She opens the door. “Hey sis, I didn’t know you were coming here with Liam.” The pair strides into the apartment as Kara steps aside to let them through. “He needed a ride.” Alex doesn’t elaborate beyond that. Kara doesn’t pick up on Alex’s slight discomfort either. Lena greets them both as she makes her way back to the kitchen for her previously forgotten tea. Alex gives Liam a knowing look and he gulps. “Actually… there is something I wanted to talk to you both about.”

Kara and Lena make their way to the living room area to join Alex and Liam. “Well, it’s about the future… when you came there with the Legends.” Kara looks from Liam to Lena and then back to Liam. “Wait, were you there? Do you remember what happened?” Kara asks urgently, failing to contain her urge to finally have more pieces to the puzzle of her life she can’t recall. Liam nods. “You had gotten separated from the Legends…”

_“I hear something, I am going to go check it out,” Kara said into the comms. “Be careful,” came Sara’s response as she headed in the direction of the all too familiar signal watch she uses in her own time. Her mind is racing with the possibilities about why someone would use that in this time. She arrives to where the sound is coming from, seeing the watch lay on the ground. “Hello?” she calls out._

_No answer._

_Kara approaches the watch cautiously. When she reaches it, she bends down to deactivate it. But, as she is reaching for it, suddenly, a green mist comes out of the watch. Kara’s eyes go wide as her body, having inhaled some of the mist, starts to scream in agony at her._

_Trap. It’s a trap._

_Kara attempts to stand up and make her way for an exit. As she turns though, she sees a figure standing in the doorway. “That was almost too easy,” says the unknown assailant. “Who… who are you?” Kara coughs out, still trying to fight off the effects of the kryptonite. “I would have thought killing you once would have been enough… but here you are.” The woman, not giving Kara time to respond, suddenly fires a kryptonite gun at Kara, the bullets puncturing her stomach, blood seeping into her Supersuit immediately. Kara falls to the ground, trying to fight off the unconsciousness. She has enough awareness to know she needs help. “Sara… help…” she manages to say, her voice low as she speaks, unable to get the strength to be louder. Kara looks up to the approaching figure. “This was a lot harder for me to do the first time, you should know.” The woman wears a wicked grin._

_Kara is surprised but thankful when she sees the woman knocked over. Kara’s eyes, somewhat blurry and slowly fading into blackness, catch the glimpse of her rescuer, another person she doesn’t recognize. The young man crouches protectively in front of Kara, putting himself between the woman and Kara. “Kiera, you can’t do this. She is from the past, from before we are born. Kill her and you will never have been born. You will cease to exist in this universe.” That is the last thing Kara sees and hears before she finally succumbs to her injuries._

“Kiera skulked away after that, knowing I wouldn’t leave your side. The Legends showed up a minute later, so I made a quick get away, leaving you for them to find and take care of.” Liam finishes his story and looks from Alex, who is giving him an encouraging smile, to Kara, who is staring at him, her expression unreadable.

Liam leaves out the other part of the conversation with his sister, not wanting to give away the details of his own relationship to the others in the room. Though the memory is as raw as if it happened yesterday.

_“You always have to be the perfect little hero, don’t you, brother? Always swooping in to save the day.” She sneers at him revoltingly. Liam angrily snaps at his sister. “Why are you doing this? Wasn’t killing our mother one time enough for you?” Kiera chuckles at his outburst. “Oh, little brother, you never understand the larger game at play.”_

“So… you… you saved my life?” Kara finally asks. Liam nods and gives her a soft proud smile as he shakes off his haunting memories. Lena puts a gentle hand on Kara’s back and starts caressing to try to soothe Kara, who gives her a gracious smile. For whatever reason, Kara had apparently not told Lena about this mystery savior, and the Legends also had no idea about him. “How did you and Kiera know that I was there, in the future?”

“I didn’t. I was tracking Kiera. I saw her setting the trap. I… I waited to see… who she was setting the trap for… before I intervened. But I have no idea how Kiera knew you were there.”

“Well, maybe Sara can tell us more about the mission we were on. Maybe Kiera is linked to that somehow…”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the group reconvenes and heads to the ship, there is heavy weight in the air. Both Lena and Kara seemingly lost in their own thoughts. Liam watches them closely, though he pays particular attention to Kara, noting how she still smells the same, looks the same, and still has several of the same mannerisms that he knew growing up. It makes his heart ache, missing the woman who sacrificed herself for her family. He gets lost in thought as his brain is flooded with the memory from that day.

_It was only a few days since Kiera had killed Alex, right in front of Kara and Liam. She couldn’t stop her because of the overpowering kryptonite Kiera had somehow gotten. It was an alarming sight, to see Kiera, who should have also been in agony, but instead standing menacingly over Kara, veins glowing green. Alex didn’t think twice when she put herself between Kara and her daughter. And just like that, it happened so fast, Kiera using her superspeed and gutting Alex with the kryptonite sword. Alex’s eyes go wide as she topples over, Kiera violently ripping the sword out of her. Kara yelling out as she sees her beloved sister fall. Kiera gives her another devilish grin as she says, “soon, you’ll be as alone as I have been all my life.” And with that, Kiera is gone. Liam ran up to Alex and attempted to stop the bleeding as Kara stared on in disbelief for a few seconds before she snapped out of it._

_“Alex… hey… hang on…” Kara tried to get Alex to stay awake, but her eyes were drooping, her breathing labored. Alex gave Kara and Liam a bloody smile. Kara instinctively reached out and took Alex’s hand in hers. “Take care of Kelly and the kids for me… Keep them safe… Kara… I love you…”_

_Kara cried over Alex’s body for hours._

“We are here.” Liam is pulled from his reverie. He looks forward, seeing a ship, with Tomar-Tu standing just outside, like he was knowingly waiting for their arrival. Lena and Kara nod to him and introduce Liam, Sara, and Ava. “They will be joining us on our expedition to restore my memories.” Tomar-Tu nods. “Very well. I will join Saint Walker and we will remain on Earth to help protect it from any threats that may arise in your absence.”

Tomar-Tu takes his leave, and the group of adventurers enter the ship. For a month, Lena felt like this was her place of captivity, unable to leave the backwoods planet she was on while she trained with the Green Lantern ring under Tomar-Tu’s guidance. But returning now, with the knowledge and skill she has gained, she is silently thankful for all that she has learned. She steadies herself as she leads the group to the center of the ship where the control center is. Luckily for Lena, Tomar-Tu also taught her how to fly the ship.

“Alright everyone, I’ll get the ship ready for space travel. You can all get settled in while I do that.”

Sara and Ava disperse to find a room for themselves, excited to explore a ship that isn’t the Waverider. There may have already been a discussion between them about all the places on the ship they could potentially christen.

Liam gives Lena and Kara a smile as he departs, hesitant to leave the two women alone. Every moment he shares with them now are moments he cherishes. While Lena is alive in the future, their lives for the past three years have been nothing but running and chasing. And Lena without Kara in her life, is a devastated, heartbroken, and hollow version of herself. She puts on a brave face in front of Liam, but he knows. He can see it. And while her primary objective has been to keep him safe, as Kara’s dying wish asked of her, there is never a moment that the sadness of losing her soulmate doesn’t perforate. So being here, seeing the version of Lena from _before_ , is something Liam never thought he would see again.

“Liam, is everything ok?” Lena asks, eyeing him curiously. _Right, they don’t know who I am…_ he thinks to himself. “Oh… yeah… yes. Everything is fine. I will go… find a room…” And with that, he makes a quick exit. Kara and Lena share a look, but then Kara shrugs. “Maybe he knows more than he has let on,” Lena comments. “Perhaps, but if he hasn’t told us, maybe it is for a reason,” Kara responds. Lena nods as she makes her way to the control board and starts to hit buttons and type in commands. She is quickly enveloped from behind by two strong arms, making her smile and sink back into the hug.

“I’ve missed you. I thought we would have gotten more time… to just… be.” Kara says somewhat sadly. Lena turns, wrapping her arms around Kara’s neck and head. “Don’t worry, we will get plenty of time together. She pulls Kara in for an intense kiss, trying to show just how much she missed and loves Kara with it. Kara smiles as she returns the kiss, lifting Lena slightly off the ground. When they finally pull apart, both are a little breathless.

“I should finish prepping the ship, Darling.” Kara smiles. “I will go find our room then and scope it out.” She gives Lena a wink. Lena half-smiles and shakes her head at Kara’s attempt at dirty talk. How innocent it still seems coming from Kara Danvers.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As everyone makes their way back to the command center of the ship, Lena is finishing the preparations for their location. Based on the information from Brainy’s calculations, Kiera appears to be going to the same location in which Tomar-Tu and the other Lantern Corps members said the rouge Yellow Lantern Corp were last located. Kara and Lena are starting to suspect that Kiera may actually be linked to the rouge Corp in some way, they just aren’t sure how yet.

“Sara, we need to know more about the mission I went on with you and the Legends when I almost died. Liam has filled me in on what he knows. But I need to know more. I am starting to feel like maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that I was there. It’s like Kiera knew I was there somehow.”

“How would she have known? I mean, you coming with us was a complete fluke of an accident. It isn’t like you typically join us as a Legend. Also, how would she have known the Legends would even show up?”

Liam stiffens up. “Wait, she may not have known, but she would have known there was a chance. Whoever kidnapped her may have told her about the Legends, especially since you did start working with them as you continued to hunt for Kiera.”

“Ok, so then, why exactly did we go to 2051 in the future?” Kara asks again, more urgently.

Ava and Sara glance at each other, giving a knowing look. “We were going into the future to stop someone from killing Mia Queen.”

“Oliver’s daughter?” Kara clarifies. Ava and Sara both nod as Sara continues the story. “Gideon alerted us that someone messed up the timeline in 2051 by toying with time travel. It was the ultimate butterfly effect, as it had changed very little except for an early death for Mia. So, we went there, not knowing who had tampered with time, but just knowing it occurred in Starling City. Since it was my home turf, I took lead on the mission while Ava quarterbacked from the ship. The rest of the team went with me to investigate a potential source for the time breach. You were outside patrolling as we went inside, but then said you heard something a few blocks away. It wasn’t until later, after Gideon had saved your life, that we knew it was the watch you give your closest loved ones.” Kara nods, knowing exactly how the rest of the story ends.

Lena jumps in, asking, “So, did we ever figure out who was behind the time travel hack?”

“That’s the weird thing, we found the location, but it was empty… abandoned in a hurry from what we could tell… Plus, without us having to do anything else… the timeline magically righted itself. We figured by showing up and Kara having a run in with whoever she did, that the person altered their behavior, which somehow fixed the timeline on its own…”

“That had to have been Kiera,” Liam speaks up. “It’s too clean… to perfect. She had a plan to bring the Legends to her, somehow banking on Supergirl being with them.”

“But her mission failed. I mean, you stopped her from killing me,” Kara remarks.

“Or… maybe it didn’t,” Liam comments. “Maybe her goal wasn’t actually to kill you… but to find out approximately what time you came from… she knew because of me that it was before she was born. She had a starting point at least…” Liam looks ashamed, having given Kiera exactly what she wanted. Silently berating himself for not realizing her plan before.

“So where did she go after that? Why wait until now to show up during this time?”

Ava steps forward, saying “From what we can tell at the abandoned site, the time travel technology they are using isn’t as precise as ours. It’s much more archaic.”

Lena and Kara both nod, attempting to put together the pieces. Kara summarizes their knowledge and the unknown for the group. “So, the Legends show up and she takes her shot at me in order to get a rough estimate of where I am from, before retreating through time. But she can’t quite hit the exact mark she wants to. So, she finally shows up in our time. But again, the question is why?” Lena follows that up with “And what does this have to do with the rouge Yellow Lantern Corp members?”

The group know they don’t quite have all the answers. And that the only way to find them is to begin their journal into space.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang spend time together on the ship as they head into deep space...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought we could all use a second chapter today to distract from the chaos of the USA today...

Liam is surprised to learn that space travel is kind of… boring. There isn’t much to look at when they are not traversing near planets or stars or asteroid fields. He quickly finds himself bored and challenging Sara to a sparring contest. Sara, never one to turn down a good fight, happily obliges. Ava smiles smugly, knowing Sara’s training as an assassin, has full faith in her girlfriend to win the fight. Lena and Kara watch on with amusement knowing that Liam is not human and may still have some of his extraterrestrial gifts despite moving further and further from the sun.

The fight goes longer than either side expected. To the point that Kara finally steps in, breaking the two skilled fighters apart, both huffing for air. “I think it’s officially a tie,” she says, trying to make it so that neither side need to concede.

Liam smiles brightly at the news. Sara eyes him curiously as she says “If I didn’t know any better… I would say you were trained by the assassin’s guild.” Liam chuckles in response, still catching his breath. “That is probably because _you_ trained me, Sara.”

This piques the group’s interest. “Wait, you know Sara in the future?” Liam silently berates himself for saying so much but knows the high of going toe-to-toe with Sara was what led him to get caught up in the moment. Even so, he attempts to cover in the moment. “Technically I know all of you in the future. But I did spend a large chunk of my adolescents being trained by Sara. In fact, your favorite pastime was having me spar with Mia, even though she was quite a few years holder than me. You mostly wanted to prove you were as good of a trainer as the former assassin who trained Mia herself.”

It was a low blow, Liam knows, but bringing up Sara’s former girlfriend from her old life did the trick. Sara quickly changed the subject. “Yeah, well, that does sound like something I would do. Anyway…” she turns to Lena, “How much longer on this ship until we reach our destination?” Lena smirks, knowing full well that Liam just touched a sensitive subject for Sara, though she has no idea what. “Well, it has been about two Earth days so far… and we have another seven before we reach a wormhole that will allow us to jump near our destination which is located near Orion’s belt.” Liam excuses himself at that point to freshen up. Sara, eyeing Ava in a not subtle way, says she too, will go freshen up. Lena and Kara do not miss how Ava quickly follows Sara down the hallway to their room.

Kara makes her way back to a sitting Lena and straddles her as she pulls Lena in for a sensual kiss that is long and deep. Once they break, with their eyes still closed, Kara whispers “You have no idea how much I missed doing this when I was away training with Saint Walker.” Lena smiles as she lays her head on Kara’s chest. “I take it Saint Walker wasn’t much for cuddles and kisses and the like?” Lena feels Kara chuckles. “Saint Walker isn’t my type.” Lena pulls back and looks up into ocean blue eyes. “And what exactly is your type, Ms. Danvers?” Kara returns the intense stare, soaking in the forest green eyes. “You. You are my type.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s a few hours later that everyone emerges from their rooms and makes their way to a room that would equate to a kitchen on Earth. It is stocked with food that the team brought with them. While Lena pulls out a salad for herself to eat, Kara pulls out potstickers. She frowns knowing she is probably too far from a yellow sun by now to use her powers. She instead turns and finds a contraption similar to a microwave, which she uses to heat them up. Liam shows up a few minutes later and helps himself to a salad. Lena smirks, seeing that she finally has someone around who appreciates her healthy lifestyle choices. Liam returns the smile and winks, somehow knowing exactly what Lena is thinking. Lena, however, shakes it off, assuming that Liam must have known this from the future for whatever reason. Ava and Sara join them shortly after that, with Sara diving into some pizza and Ava also grabbing a salad. This revelation makes her smirk turn into a full-blown grin. Kara, seeing the grin but having no idea about Lena’s train of thought, asks “What are you smiling about?”

Lena looks over at Kara as she responds with, “Oh, just noticing how you are finally outnumbered in the dietary habits department.” Kara looks around the table as Ava and Liam smile. Sara just laughs at the silliness of the situation as Kara looks at the table in disbelief. She sputters noncoherently for a few seconds and then stuffs a potsticker in her mouth and gives Lena a disgruntled look of defeat. The rest of the group laughs.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s after this meal that Sara has an excellent idea. Well, excellent to her, but not so much to Kara who is concerned she will die of embarrassment.

Sara suggests they play “never have a I ever.”

Lena on the other hand, finds it all very entertaining to see Kara squirm.

“Ok, I’ll go first to demonstrate,” Sara says. “Never have I ever been visited… or attacked… by my child of the future.”

Lena and Kara glare at Sara as they each take a drink of their alcoholic beverage. Ava and Liam share a laugh, getting a sense of how exactly this game is going to go.

“Ok, me next,” Kara says, hoping for some payback. “Never have I ever… been to the past.” Ava quietly takes a drink with Sara, who mutters “low hanging fruit much?”

And so, the game continues.

“Never have I ever died and come back to life.” (Sara and Kara have to drink for this one of course)

“Never have I ever been CEO of a company.” (Lena smirks at the rest of them, but winks at Kara)

“Never have I ever been trained by a member or former member of the League of Assassins.”

“Never have I ever dated an alien.”

“Never have I ever kissed a man.”

“Never have I ever had sex in space.” (Liam smiles widely as he says this one). Kara blushes deep read.

By the end of the game, everyone is beyond tipsy, but laughing and having a good time, even Kara.

Liam takes in this scene, which fills his heart with so much joy. To see Lena and Kara together is one thing. But to see them in their element, as a happy, loving couple, is beyond what he could have imagined. And seeing them with Sara and Ava, together and happy, makes Liam shed a tear. Luckily for him, he is able to cover it with all the laughter going on. Everyone thinks he laughed so hard that he started crying. Which just made everyone laugh even more – to the point that Ava and Lena are also crying a little.

For Liam, this is quite possibly the best day he has had in the last four years. He knows he should tell Lena and Kara the truth of his origins. But he is so afraid they won’t accept him. He knows that at this time, their history with Lex is still recent and the scars still a bit raw. He is concerned with upsetting the balance and relationship he has already quickly formed with them and with Sara and Ava. He decides he can put it off until after the mission. Once his mom, Kara, has her memories, he will tell them the truth.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s the next “morning,” that Liam makes his way back to the kitchen to find Lena and Kara sipping hot drinks in hushed tones. They are all smiles and Kara have a slight blush to her face. Liam smiles as he clears his throat to announce his presence. “Good morning,” he greets them as he makes his way towards the hot chocolate.

“How did you sleep Liam?” Kara asks. He turns and heads to join them at a table. “I slept pretty well. And yourself?” Kara’s face blushes darker as she glances quickly at Lena. “Uh… yes, I slept well…” Liam smirks, knowing the implications behind her answer, but choosing to let her blush be embarrassment enough. “Anything on the agenda for today?” He asks instead.

“Well,” Lena starts, “We didn’t have much planned since we are still three days from the jump. But Kara and I will be training later today with our Lantern Corp rings. You are welcome to watch. Perhaps we could even use your help with the training session.” Liam smiles widely. “I’d love to.”

“Is that hot chocolate?” Kara suddenly jumps in, smelling Liam’s beverage. “Yes, with extra marshmallows,” he says slyly as he takes a soothing sip of his beverage. Kara looks at Lena as she says, “See! I am not the only adult who prefers hot chocolate to coffee!” Lena chuckles at Kara’s shenanigans. “Just because you managed to find the one other sentient being on Earth who is an adult and prefers a non-caffeinated hot beverage in the morning, does not mean you have a solid argument for it being better than coffee.” Lena gives Kara her signature Luthor smirk as Kara fumbles to respond, sputtering incoherently. Lena laughs again.

Kara decides to change her tactic, turning to Liam. “Well, Liam, who introduced you to the deliciously of hot chocolate?” Liam takes another sip, purposefully buying himself a few seconds before he responds, “Oh, my mother made it for me often growing up.” Kara smiles at Lena, “See, another adult who obviously also understood how amazing hot chocolate is.” Liam smiles somewhat sadly at Kara, feeling guilty that they don’t know who he really is. That this could be a sweet bonding moment between the three of them. He takes in a deep breath, sighing as he attempts to change the subject, talking about some of his favorite foods from the future. Lena and Kara don’t seem to notice Liam’s slight change in affect, both being too busy basking in each other’s love as they engage in their witty banter over drinks and food.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Liam’s mood improves drastically when they start the training session. Lena and Kara put him in charge of throwing any and all obstacles their way, as Lena practices taking the lead with Kara as backup, focusing her own power on enhancing Lena’s power. It’s a simple exercise, but one that takes much concentration from Kara, as she instinctively wants to throw herself in front of Lena anytime she thinks she is about to be hit with something. In fact, it takes several tries before Lena finally gives Kara a blindfold. This way, she can focus on her powers and not on what she is seeing.

Kara hates it at first and grumbles her displeasure for several minutes as they prepare the next training round. Lena chuckles as she gingerly places the blindfold on her lover. “Stay in this spot, out of the action,” she instructs Kara as she moves to begin again. Kara audibly sighs, a bit dramatically, though she can’t keep the smile off her face as she does. Lena smiles lovingly at Kara, even though Kara can’t see it, as she walks away. But not before placing a kiss on Kara’s forehead. Liam can’t help but smile at this version of Kara and Lena. They are so lighthearted and free. It’s completely different from the Kara he remembers from the moment Kiera came into their lives. And it’s worlds apart from the Lena he has been around for the past three years. Lena without Kara is a fractured shattered version of herself. It hurts his heart to remember this other version of Lena, the one he is hoping to prevent from ever having to happen. He grits his teeth as he prepares to attack Lena, wanting to make sure he can help with getting her training up to par as much as he possibly can.

The three continue training and Kara does mildly better at containing her urge to step into the action – she lasts a full three minutes longer than she did before putting on the blindfold. Lena takes that as a win, congratulating Kara on her ability to be patient and not rush into action right away. Kara can tell Lena is being a tiny bit sarcastic, but just smirks and shakes her head in response as they ready for another round.

And so, it goes for another hour or so, before Sara find the three of them, quite exhausted from the training session. “Hey, can I borrow Kara for a little bit?” Lena, though eyeing Sara suspiciously, nods to Kara, who gives her a quick peck on the cheeks before exiting the room, leaving just Lena and Liam.

Lena realizes this is might be the only chance she has to ask her questions of Liam. She knows the rules and regulations of time-travel and not revealing too much. But ever since learning about Kiera, Lena can’t help but have these questions burning in her brain, begging to be answered.

“So, Liam, how are you adjusting to this time? I can’t imagine how different it must all feel and be, compared to the time you come from.” Liam makes a point of wiping the sweat off his forehead, facing away from Lena, before answering. He turns around and smiles his signature smile. He was always told he had Kara’s smile – big, bright, and charming when it needed to be. “You know, it is actually not _that_ different. I mean, it’s amazing to see Sara again. Ava too. I have missed them both. I feel like I have been running and chasing Kiera for so long that I forgot what it was like to actually just spend time with…” Liam trails off, afraid of saying too much.

“Family?” Lena asks. Liam, looking perplexed, follows it with, “Well, I was very close with Sara when she spent the few years training me. So, in a way, she became family.” Lena nods. “I too have had to make a new family. As I am guessing you know… being a Luthor has come with certain… familial difficulties.” Liam and Lena both chuckle at her description of her family. “Can you tell me something… about the future?” Lena tentatively asks. Liam eyes her carefully. “Depends… you know what Sara and Ava say about revealing things about the future…” Of course, Lena knows, she received the same lecture from the time-travelers. “It’s just… I guess I was wondering whether… before everything with Kiera happened… were we happy? Kara and I?”

This wasn’t the question Liam was expecting. He had expected Lena to ask about some future technology or the status of Lcorp as a leader in technology. Asking about her relationship threw him for a tailspin internally. Liam felt his heart breaking further. But he had to keep the promise he made to Lena. Not the Lena here, in front of him, but the one who helped get him back to the past. The one he tried to bring back with him, but who refused, knowing that seeing the love of her life again after three years might just break her. The memory flashes through his mind.

_Liam and Lena are standing next to the unopened portal, anxiety written on Liam’s face. This Lena is older and has a scar cutting across her left cheek. There is sadness written all over her face. “Mom, please come with me. I’ll need your help with this mission.” Lena attempts a smile at her son. “You know I can’t. I cannot risk running into my past self and revealing something I shouldn’t. There is much less of a chance for something like that to happen if only one of us goes… Besides, as much as I desperately want to see Kara alive again… there is no escaping the fact that I couldn’t just see her… I’d want to touch her, to hold her… to kiss her. And I don’t think a future version of her soulmate would be as helpful as you, someone they don’t know.”_

_Liam grits his teeth. “But they will know me in the future. How is that different?” Liam knows he is reaching a bit, but he is desperate to keep his mother close to him… to keep her alive._

_“Liam, you cannot tell them who you are… not before stopping Kiera. It will make things too messy… emotionally… Both Kara and the past me will be more focused on saving you… on keeping you alive, than they will be on the mission at hand. Please, trust me on this. Promise me you won’t tell them who you actually are?”_

_Liam nods, wanting to do whatever she asks, knowing he may not make it back to her._

Luckily for Liam, he has learned how to put up a decently good front thanks to training from the woman before him. So as the memory flashes through his mind, he simply looks pensive, like he is thinking hard about her question. She just doesn’t know that. So, while inside he has a chaotic mess of emotions and thoughts swirling through him from the question asked and the memory flash, externally he is as calm, cool, and collected as he ever is. It’s his ability to regulate his external representation of his emotions that helps him keep Lena and Kara at arm’s length. He can’t risk the mission due to not being able to control his emotions and behaviors.

“From what I know… yes it appears that way. You and Kara go on to do some really great things on Earth together… and despite losing Kiera and dealing with that trauma… you continued to do good. If I had to guess… I would say you and Kara were both trying to make the world better for when you were finally reunited with Kiera… so she would have a better world to grow up in… to live in.”

“But are we happy?” She asks, clearly not satisfied with the answer. Liam smiles, thinking back on his own childhood. “I think so, yes…”. Liam knows he can’t say anything else… that anything more would have been intimate knowledge that only those closest to Lena and Kara would know. He can’t go on to tell that that, despite the loss of Kiera, when Liam joined the family, they tried so hard to give him a good life. He can’t tell them that, whenever Kara went across time to look for Kiera, that Lena stayed behind to make sure he was taken care of and knew that he was loved. He can’t tell them that before he was taken in my them, he lived a sad, lonely existence. He can’t tell them any of this, without revealing his own identity.

Lena smiles at the sentiment, at the thought of a happy future. Something she, on more than one occasion, believed would never be. “You know… you never did tell us how you got mixed up in all of this… it seems very personal to you… I mean, you risked coming back in time to stop her, by yourself. How are you connected to Kiera?”

Liam should have known Lena would be the one to connect those dots, be the one who would ask those questions. He sighs. “It’s a very long story…” Lena nods, encouraging him to go on, but not pushing the subject. Liam tries to give her something more. “On her crusade, Kiera did a lot of damage. She didn’t care who got in the way of her vengeance… She destroyed my family.” Lena comes up and pulls Liam into a surprising hug. He is still for a moment, shocked by the emotional gesture, before relaxing into the hug and returning it.

“I’m so sorry that our future daughter has caused such chaos in your life. Thank you for trusting us enough to try to change the future for the better.” By now, Liam’s façade has been broken, as his eyes glisten from tears. As they break the hug, Lena pulls back and gentle wipes away a runaway tear from Liam’s face with her thumb. It’s exactly how she did it as a mother. It’s almost too overwhelming to Liam.

“I think I am going to go lay down for a while…” he finally says, trailing off as he turns and makes his way for the hallway. Lena is left standing there alone, her mind swirling.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone finds out what Sara and Kara are up to. Plus, they finally arrive at the planet and have their face off with Kiera.

They are one day away from reaching the wormhole when Sara, with Kara’s help, enacts her plan. The gang are all in the kitchen area eating and chatting when Sara gives Kara the look. At this prompt, Kara smiles knowingly. Lena catches the shared look between the two heroes but doesn’t say anything. Kara stands up and stretches. “What do you say Sara? Want to go a few rounds against me today?”

“Do you think you can handle me without your powers Supergirl?” Sara has a completely confident, smug tone in her voice as she smirks at Kara. “Only one way to find out!” And with that, Kara and Sara exit the room.

“Those two are most definitely up to something,” Lena remarks shortly after they exit. Liam chuckles as Ava asks, “What do you mean?” Lena sits back in her chair, placing her coffee back on the table. “I have known Kara a long time. I know her looks. And I can tell when she is lying. She is most definitely up to something.” Ava nods, trusting Lena’s judgment. “Should we intervene?” She asks curiously. At this, Lena smiles. “Nah… let’s give it some time and see what happens.”

Ava returns her smile. “Chess?” she asks as she stands up and goes over to a cupboard, opening it to reveal a few boardgames. “That sounds lovely. I haven’t had a good challenge in a while.” Ava smirks, knowing exactly what Lena means.

“I play the winner!” Liam exclaims, settling in to watch what is sure to be a glorious match.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s about an hour later that Kara comes running back into the kitchen area, actually breathing heavily. “Ava! Ava! Come quick. Sara is hurt!” At this, the three of them jump up and follow Kara back down the hallway to the training room. Smiling, Kara side steps just after entering the room. Ava comes to a startled halt as she takes in the scene before her, her mouth agape as she processes exactly what is happening.

Sara isn’t hurt. She is fine.

Instead, Ava sees the room completely redone, decorated with candles and curtains and whatever else Kara and Sara could find on the ship to make it look more romantic and less like a training area.

“Wha… what is going on?” Ava finally stumbles out. In that moment, Sara steps forward, fully dressed in a skintight dark blue suit and tie. “Ava. Love of my life,” Is all she says as she waltzes up to her and gets down on one knee. Ava gasps as she is left completely speechless.

“When we first met, I was immediately enamored by you. Granted, I didn’t like you because you were trying to stop me and my team. But that didn’t change the fact that I knew immediately you were the perfect opponent for me. We could fight all day and still never declare a winner. Beyond that though, I eventually got to see the side of you that you hide from so many. The soft, caring, funny side of you. Like me, you don’t quite fit into the world. And like me, you rarely love, but when you do, you love so, so, so deeply.” By this point, Ava’s eyes are filled with tears. “Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”

Ava can only nod as tears flow down her cheeks, wrapped up in the happiness of the moment. Sara slides a ring on Ava’s finger and then stands up, pulling Ava into a chaste kiss that Ava gladly returns. In the corner, Kara is full on crying at the wonderfully magic and loving moment between these two, her heart filled with joy. She misses the fact that Lena is fighting back her own tears in that moment. Liam smiles wide at the scene before him, letting a few tears break free from his eyes and glide down his cheek.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Kara and Lena prepare for sleep, a weird mood fills the room. They know it is the last chance for sleep they will get before going through the wormhole to face their daughter from the future. Lena, trying to avoid thinking about what is to come, focuses instead on the events of the day.

“So, you helped Sara plan the proposal?” Kara gives her a half-smile and nods. “What did you think?” Kara asks. “I thought it was beautiful.” Lena says it softly, reflecting on the proposal in her mind, just how in the moment and in love Sara and Ava were. Lena thinks back over her relationship with Kara, remembering just how much pain and how much time it took for them to get where they are now. And while they have only really been dating for a short time… it feels like so much longer given all the events that happened in their friendship.

Kara can tell Lena is lost in thought. She reaches out her hand and pulls Lena to her, sitting them both down on the bed. “What are you thinking about?” Kara asks, “If you don’t mind sharing,” she finishes, wanting to respect any potential boundaries Lena might have. Lena smiles at her and cups her cheek gently. “You. And Me. Us,” is the cryptic answer Lena gives. But with the warm, loving smile she gives Kara, Kara gets lost in the green eyes staring at her.

“I know I don’t say it directly, with words, like ever… but just so we are clear… I love you, Kara Zor-El Danvers.” Kara blushes at the emotional confession before smiling widely. “Good. I was a little concerned it might just be me.” Both women chuckle as they meet each other halfway for a deep, passionate kiss. The events of the day making the two women feel even more connected and closer with each other. Pulling away briefly from the kiss, Kara rests her head against Lena’s. “I love you, Lena Kieran Luthor.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mood on the ship the next day has suddenly become much more tense as the group prepare for the wormhole jump and for what is to come on the other side. Kara sticks near Lena, wanting to make sure she knows she isn’t alone as they go to face whatever is on the other side. Kara may or may not have her Supergirl powers. But she has her Blue Lantern powers, which can magnify Lena’s Green Lantern powers. With Sara and Ava and Liam, the five them will be able to restore her memories. Kara has to believe it. She knows it is vital to the mission. And to saving the future… and to save her daughter.

Meanwhile, Lena is busying herself, pretending to be preparing for the jump, knowing full well that the ship is already prepared for such a thing. But she knows that if she stops, her mind will focus on Kiera and how their daughter could take such a dark path…

“Everything set?” Sara asks as she joins Kara and Lena in the main control room of the ship. Ava and Liam trail slightly behind her, looking prepared for battle. “Yes,” Lena says as she nods in their direction. “We should have visual of the wormhole within the next ten minutes. Once we are close enough, the gravitational force will start to pull us in and then we will come out on the other side, near Orion’s belt, where a planet resides. This is the last known location of the rouge members from the yellow Lantern Corp.”

Everyone settles into chairs, buckling in, preparing for the rapid increase in speed as they traverse the wormhole. Unsure what exactly they will find on the other side.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hold on! Hold on!” Lena yells to the rest as they exit the wormhole. Lena takes manual control of the ship at that point, trying to avoid the asteroids and other space debris that they didn’t know would be waiting for them on the other side. The ship lurches left and then back to the right as Lena narrowly misses some space rocks flying by. She is focuses on the screen before her, but still manages to scrape against some debris before she finally makes it through the space minefield.

“Is everyone ok?” she asks, bringing the ship back to a cruising speed towards the planet below. She hears everyone grumble that they are ok. “We are approaching the planet now; this should be a much smoother landing…”

As they approach, they scan the planet and land in an area that is a good distance from the heat signatures they detect. Scanning the atmosphere, Lena announces “We should be able to breathe on this planet. It also has a similar gravitational field as Earth.” She is relieved to say this herself, given she spent a month training on a planet that was comparable to Earth.

The team is about to exit the ship when the alarm goes off, alerting them that there are heat signatures just outside the ship. Lena pulls up the screen to see one, lone figure standing before them. 

Kiera.

“I am surprised you made it here so soon. No matter, you won’t make it past me.” Kiera’s voice is horse, dark, and overly threatening as she smirks.

“What do we do?” Kara asks the group, unsure of how to proceed now that she knows the person before her is her own child. “She still doesn’t know I made it back to the past. So, we have that advantage,” Liam remarks. The team nod as Sara steps forward. “I think I have a plan.”

It’s a few minutes late that the bay doors open on the ship and Lena and Kara step out, together but alone. The rest of the team are waiting in the wings, out of sight.

“Kiera, we know who you are,” Kara says in her most commanding Supergirl voice. Lena and Kara step off the ship and onto the muddy planet, hands entangled. Kiera, still wearing a smirk, says, “Well it’s about time you figured it out. You two are supposed to be very smart, after all.” Lena and Kara glance at each other, recognizing the taunt for what it is.

“Kiera, we don’t want to hurt you.” Lena says this with all the confidence she can muster.

“I see you’ve made a full recover… _mother_.” She is talking directly to Lena now, a glare in her eyes.

Kara speaks again. “Please, Kiera. Don’t do this. We know you are working with the rouge yellow Lanterns, but you don’t need to do this. We can help you.”

The laugh that comes from Kiera is reminiscent of Lex Luthor. Lena’s body automatically cringes when she hears it.

“You have no idea what is going on between me and the yellow Lanterns. We are going to make something great. Something far better than anything you could hope to accomplish. And all it took from me was a tiny bit of convincing.”

“You’re leading them,” Lena states blankly, the pieces starting to fall into place.

The dark expression and grin Keira wears on her face is all the answer they need. “You can’t stop us.”

Lena and Kara’s hands instinctively tighten on each other. Kara looks at Lena who gives her a slight head nod. “We can try.”

Kiera sprints, closing the distance on them rapidly as Lena steps in front of Kara. Kara focuses her blue power ring on Lena as Lena focuses on creating a whip with her own power ring. Lena hears the gasp from Kara, surprised at Lena’s abilities likely. What Kara doesn’t know is that Lena spent much of her training on using a whip specifically. It’s utility and Lena’s ability to think quickly were what led to her ultimately choosing such a weapon.

Lena waits until Kiera is within range before attempt to wrap the whip around her arm or leg. Even without powers Kiera is a skilled fighter as she dodges the whip and continues her pursuit of the Luthor and Super, wearing a look of fearless determination.

Lena suddenly feels a surge of power course through her. She knows this must be the power from Kara’s blue Lantern ring. She uses the added power to form a shield just as Kiera jumps into the air above the whip and comes down towards Lena. Lena uses the shield to shove Kiera to the side and employs her whip immediately. This time, Lena is successful, wrapping the whip around Kiera’s hand.

“Now!” Lena yells and at this, Sara, Ava, and Liam all come running off the ship, quickly encircling Kiera, who glares at the five of them. She is searching for an exit strategy when her eyes fall onto Liam and she stops struggling with the whip.

“You. How?” Liam smiles at Kiera. “You should have known we would find a way.” Kiera grits her teeth, suddenly jumps up and attempts to pull Lena towards her. But Kara is slightly faster and wraps her arms around Lena’s waist, planting her feet in the ground. Between the two of them, Kiera is no match. Sara, Ava, and Liam quickly enclose Kiera, with Sara quickly pinning her to the ground while Ava and Liam tie her up. Her eyes watch Liam closely.

“You shouldn’t have come back,” she says to him.

“You left me no choice Kiera.”

They lift Kiera off the ground and bring her onto the ship, putting her in an empty room and locking it.

Kiera continues to give them an insidious smile as the door closes but remains silent.

“Ok, what do we do now?” Liam asks.

“We get Kara’s memories back,” Lena says intensely.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Lena try to process things now that they have faced Kiera up close and personal. And Liam comes clean about who he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics mean it's a flashback, though I try to make it obvious when this is happening.

Feeling the weight of the fight, and needing to recharge their powers and themselves, everyone splinters off to their own rooms. Kara walks in behind Lena, a concerned look on her face as she can feel the negative emotion radiating off Lena.

“Are you ok?” Kara asks tentatively. Lena sighs as she sits on the end of the bed, putting her head in her hands. “This must be my fault.” Confused, Kara walks up to Lena and kneels down in front of her. She asks softly, “Lee, what are you talking about?” Lena looks up with tears glistening in her eyes. “I’m a Luthor, Kara. I have darkness in my genetic code… Whatever drove Kiera to this… it comes from me.” The tears now burst forward from Lena unwillingly as Kara engulfs her in her arms. “Hey… it’s ok… I’ve got you.”

The two women stay there, wrapped up in each other for several minutes before Lena’s tears finally subside. Kara waits patiently until then to speak again. “Lena Kieran Luthor. Your last name has never and will never define who you are as a person. You are a greater force for good than I could ever hope to be.” Lena scoffs at the comment. “I’m serious, what you do at Lcorp with your technology and science… it will reach so many more people than I ever could as Supergirl.” Lena gives Kara a shy smile, though still not quite convinced, says “You have saved the world several times over. And you literally saved the multiverse.”

Kara smiles at Lena with an amused and knowing expression. “And do you think I could have done any of that, if it wasn’t for you? All the times that you saved my life. Or the times you helped with the technology and saving lives in each and every one of those crises? You have always been by my side, even if it wasn’t quite like you are now. You and I – we are meant to be together, doing great, amazing things together. There is no stopping us.”

Lena is speechless, completely taken aback by Kara’s confidence in her statement. All she can think to do is pull Kara in for a kiss, which Kara gladly obliges. The two quickly find themselves laying back on the bed, completely entangled in each other, Lena needing the reassurance that Kara is happy to give.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few doors down, Liam is pacing his room, debating his next course of action. His mind again flooded with the memories of his mother.

_“Liam, you cannot tell them who you are… not before stopping Kiera. It will make things too messy… emotionally… Both Kara and the past me will be more focused on saving you… on keeping you alive, than they will be on the mission at hand. Please, trust me on this. Promise me you won’t tell them who you actually are?”_

_Liam nods, wanting to do whatever she asks, knowing he may not make it back to her. He pulls Lena in for a hug, trying to hang on to whatever pieces of her he can, as he embarks on the next mission. Neither say it, but they both know that if he is successful, not just in stopping Kiera, but in rewriting the timeline… that the version of himself and of Lena will cease to exist. There is no coming back from this mission unless he fails. And if he fails, what is the point in coming back?_

_“Ok son, you listen to me – you are going to be fine. You were raised by a Super AND a Luthor. You could not be more prepared for this kind of mission. Anytime you falter, just remember how much your mothers love you.” Liam’s eyes are brimming with tears as they pull away from one another. “Thank you for everything. You took me in when I thought I would be alone in the world. You taught me the difference between right and wrong, and all about the shades of gray in between. I couldn’t have asked for a better mother.” He again hugs her tightly._

_Lena chuckles as they pull away again, and says, “You are so much like Kara, always knowing exactly what to say, it’s uncanny.” Liam smiles proudly, glad to hear he is carrying on the Super legacy in more ways than one. “Don’t forget, I get my spunk from Alex.” Both mother and son laugh at that remark. “That you do,” Lena comments as she fixes a stray hair on Liam’s head. “I get so much more from you though, you know that, right?” Lena nods and cups his cheek. “You’ll always be my boy, always.”_

Liam slips out of his room after that and makes his way back down the hallway, pausing outside of Kiera’s room. He uses his x-ray vision and sees that she is sitting on the floor, staring at the door.

“I know you’re out there, little brother.” Liam sighs. “Just tell me why you are doing this Kiera.” As usual, Liam refuses to acknowledge Kiera as his sibling, using her name instead. It’s something that Kiera always notices and is probably one of the reasons she continues to remind them of their bond with her nickname for him. Kiera stands up and walks to the door, turning her back to it and sliding back down to the floor. Liam watches intently before following suit on his side of the door. “You got everything I never had.” Liam grits his teeth, jaw locked. “That isn’t my fault.”

“You weren’t even supposed to be there. Can you imagine, I finally make it back to my time, and I find my parents, content and happy as can be with their new child.”

“Kiera… they never stopped looking for you.”

“That’s BS. How could they not find me? They are supposed to be so smart and strong and _good_.” She emphasizes the last word. “Yet they couldn’t even find their own daughter.”

“You know that’s twisted. They never stopped looking. Every time they got a hit on the radar from Gideon, Kara would go. But she was always too late. You had been moved again. It killed a part of them, that they never found you. I saw how it wore them both down. And you and I both know Kara could have fought harder against you. Even then, she didn’t want to hurt you. And it cost her, her life.”

“Oh please. I am literally the genetically perfected version of those two. I have the best of each of them in my strength, power, and brains.”

“But not in your personality.” Liam smirks to himself for the witty comeback.

“Whatever, dear brother. What do you think will happen when they find out _exactly_ where you came from? The memory of what _he_ did to them is still fresh in their mind. Do you think they would be able to trust you once they know the truth?”

Liam doesn’t response. This is a fear of his and Kiera knows it. Future Lena thinks they would want to protect him. Liam thinks they will reject him. Liam sits there, his back against the cold metal door, thinking about what to do now. He promised Alex he would tell them the truth once they had stopped Kiera… but they still hadn’t gotten Kara’s memories back yet… so they were technically still on mission… Liam’s forehead crinkles as he is lost in his own head, in his own internal debate.

“What? No witty comeback, little brother?” Liam can practically hear the smirk on her face. Liam, having received enough mocking, stands up and walks away as he whispers, “I’m going to fix this.” A look of determination on his face.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Much like his Kryptonian mother, Liam tends to eat when he is anxious or nervous. So, he makes his way to the kitchen area and finds something to eat while he debates exactly how he is going to tell Lena and Kara the truth. One thing is for certain, if he doesn’t tell them soon, Kiera will. If for no other reason than to make them suspicious of him and potentially break up the group. He sighs out loud to himself, frustrated about feeling forced into a corner, but also knowing that he did this to himself in many ways.

“You ok kid?” Liam turns to see Sara and Ava at the doorway. “Yeah… just… trying to figure out the next steps of the plan.” Sara and Ava nod and make their way to the cupboards to find some food. “Well, Lena is the genius on this ship. I am sure she has some plan brewing.” Liam gives them a curt half-smile and nod, not wanting to explain to them the truth of who he is before he tells Lena and Kara.

Liam manages to sit there with his anxiety for another five minutes, making small talk with Ava and Sara before he finally excuses himself. He makes his way down the hall, steadying himself as he stands in front of Kara and Lena’s door. “You can do this Liam. You have two of the strongest, smartest, loving parents on the planet.”

He knocks.

No response.

Liam sighs again, frustrated that he built himself up and is now quickly losing his nerve. He wanders the ship, thinking back as some of his memories flood his mind.

_Lena stands, hunched over a child Liam, maybe 10 years old. He has clearly been crying. She gives him a sad smile. “Liam, mommy will be back before you know it. She is going to look for your sister. Remember, we told you all about Kiera when you came to live with us?” Liam gives her a nod, though he is still clearly pouting. “Plus, while mommy is gone, you and I can spend some time in my science lab doing experiments.” Lena gives him a wide smile as his eyes light up at the idea of getting to tinker in his mom’s lab. “Alright sweetie, mom is going to go say goodbye to mommy, you stay with Aunt Alex, ok?” Lena looks beyond Liam at Alex who is standing back a dozen feet. Liam nods to Lena and turns, running to Alex who engulfs him in a hug. She nods at Alex, turning and going up to the portal. Kara is by the control panel, programming the portal for the appropriate time jump._

_“He will be ok Kara. But are you sure you want to go alone? I could still come with you.” Kara turns from the control panel, putting her arms around Lena’s shoulders, staring deeply into her green eyes. “Liam is still adjusting to us. He needs you here. Besides, this is the first time we have gotten a hit in over a year. It’ll probably be another dead end.” Lena grimaces, almost cringing at Kara’s lack of hope at ever finding their daughter. It has been 8 years since their little girl was taken from them. Both women are still haunted by nightmares. And have yet to change a thing in Kiera’s room. It is like, for so long, they were frozen in time. Until Liam showed up a year ago._

_“Please come back to me,” Lena says, opting to ignore Kara’s pessimistic attitude._

_Kara gives her a sad smile. “I always do.” She pulls Lena in for a quick kiss before turning around and activating the portal. She gives Lena one last glimpse before she turns and stalks into the portal, determined._

_Lena stares sadly at the portal for a few minutes after Kara departs, debating whether she should follow her wife anyway, despite her wishes. But she turns to see Liam, wrapped around Alex, and knows that now, her place is here, with their son, while Kara goes after their daughter._

Liam is rounding a corner when he hears voices. He pauses, not wanting to interrupt.

“There you are. I woke up and you were gone.” It’s Kara he hears talking first.

He can’t see it, but Lena is pacing in the room. “It’s just… what if we can’t get your memories back? What if we don’t figure out what Kiera is up to? What if, even knowing what we know now, we still lose her in the future?” It’s Lena’s voice that Liam hears, clearly distraught.

“We have to have hope that we can fix this Lee. We have to have hope for our happily ever after.” Liam is pretty sure the two are hugging now.

“How are you always so full of hope?” Lena asks, a smile on her voice. “Oh, don’t let this superhero persona fool you, I am terrified of messing this up. It’s one thing to mess my own happiness up. It’s completely different knowing that I messed up my own child’s happiness. Like, that is the one thing I would hope I could do right…”

It’s the last comment that rocks Liam to his core. He marches around the corner to find Lena and Kara sitting side by side on the floor, leaning back against the wall in the training room.

“Liam, hey, everything ok?” Kara asks, clearly surprised by his presence. Liam takes them both in, seeing the anguish on their faces. Anguish that he caused.

“I need to tell you something.” He blurts it out in a hurry, so he can’t change his mind.

Kara and Lena sit up straighter. “Ok, what is it?” Kara asks. Lena eyes him suspiciously.

One of the other things he inherited from his mother was his tendency to ramble when he is anxious. “It’s just… I know I should have told you before… but I promised… someone that I wouldn’t tell you… And I was trying to keep that promise… but you should know… you need to know…” Liam is pacing rapidly around the room, his hands flying up in the air as he talks.

Kara and Lena stand up and approach Liam. Kara stops Liam in his tracks, placing her hands on his shoulders. “Hey… slow down… what’s going on?”

Liam looks at Kara and then to Lena. He takes a step back, pulling away from Kara’s touch. “Kiera isn’t the only child you have in the future… I’m… your adopted son… sort of…”

Lena looks at Kara, both surprised by the information. Kara is unsure of what to say. Lena, however, is quicker on her feet. “What do you mean by that, exactly?”

Liam lets out a slow, long breath. “I am technically _your_ biological son,” he says as he gestures to Kara. “You didn’t know I existed until I was about 9 years old… when you found out… you and Lena took me in and raised me as your own.”

“How would I not know I had a child?” Kara manages to ask, despite her fear of the answer.

“Birthing matrix.”

Lena stares wide-eyed at Kara, recalling when Kara had explained the birthing matrix to her when they first started dating. She didn’t think it could be replicated on Earth though. But perhaps someone figures it out in the future.

Kara stares at Liam, taking in his appearance with an entirely new appreciation. She can see it now… his blond hair matches her own… the crinkle in his forehead when he is lost in thought… the rambling show he just put on… It’s in that moment that Kara also notices his green eyes… his determination… his seriousness… But he didn’t say he was Lena’s biological son.

Kara cringes as she asks, “Wait… who… who is the other parent?” She may be even more afraid of this answer than the last one, especially because Liam finally looks at her right in the eyes, a despondent expression on his face.

“Lex.”

The silence that fills the room after Liam’s answer is deafening.

It’s a full two minutes before Kara finally speaks again. “How?” Her voice is hoarse, she barely says it above a whisper.

“He had your DNA from years ago. Someone called Red Daughter.”

Lena and Kara share a knowing glance. “But he is in jail… locked away deep in a DEO facility.”

“Yeah… but not forever.” Lena stares on, regretting that she didn’t kill him… for a second time.

Lena has made her way subconsciously to Kara’s side during the conversation. She takes Kara’s hand and gives it a squeeze. Both women unsure of how to proceed… of what to say. It’s all a bit overwhelming for them both. And all they know is that they have each other. 

“I know… I know I should have told you before… but I didn’t want us to lose focus on the mission… on stopping… my sister.”

“You didn’t come back just to stop her though. You came back to change the timeline.” Lena says it softly, in a nonaccusing tone. Liam nods. “Right, the problem is I don’t actually know who took her… we never figured it out in the future…”

“Well, that doesn’t mean we can’t stop it.” Kara’s free hand is balled into a fist, her anger over the knowledge that someone could take an innocent child, her child, finally coming to the surface. She is squeezing Lena’s hand as well. And if she still had powers, she probably would have broken it.

“First thing’s first, let’s get my memories back. Then we can figure out how to fix the timeline.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang work together to get Kara's memories back and start the return journey back to Earth.

The plan was simple. Step 1: Send Sara to do reconnaissance where the heat signatures were coming from. Her training as a silent assassin finally coming into use. Step 2: Liam stays on the ship to guard Kiera while the rest infiltrate the basecamp of the yellow Lanterns to find where they are storing Kara’s memories. Step 3: Leave as quickly and quietly as they can with said memories.

Step 1 went according to plan. Sara was even able to take an educated guess as to where they might be storing the memories, since she scouted around the perimeter of the entire camp. There was one certain building that was clearly more important compared to the rest of the camp as it was highly guarded. 

Step 2 also went according to play. They did run into two guards on the way, which Ava and Sara quickly took care of, knocking them unconscious and then storing them in a nearly closet. After which, they managed to find a room that was highly guarded. Kara and Lena were sure this had to be the place. Using her green lantern powers, Lena quickly subdued the two guards posted outside the room, using her powers to summon a giant, solid, containment unit which she quickly encompassed the guards in. She smiled at the thought that she had to make it soundproof as well. While she held the guards in place and Sara stood guard, Kara and Ava entered the room. No one was in the room, but there were what appeared to be massive computer systems, not unlike the ones on the ships used by the other Lanterns. There was also some kind of containment device in the center of the room. It appeared to be holding some kind of microchip, though it was clearly not from Earth.

“You think that’s it?” Ava asked. Kara shrugged as she approached the keyboard and began typing into it to see whether it would tell her exactly what it was being stored on the chip. It only took a minute or two before Kara excitedly proclaimed “Bingo. Yes, that’s it!” Ava went to work methodically shutting the system down so she could extract the chip. Once free, Ava handled it to Kara, who quickly tucked it away.

It was Step 3 when all things went to hell.

They had just existed the room when an alarm started blaring.

“Time’s up, we gotta go!”

“What about them?” Lena asked, clearly unsure on what to do to the two guards still be contained in her makeshift cell.

“We can take care of them,” Ava says as she nods to Sara, who smiles in return. “You two go on ahead and get Kara out of here so she can restore those memories. Lena and Kara both give them a gracious smile and nod as they turn and disappear down the hallway, releasing the guards who quickly get back to their feet, ready to engage in battle.

“Alright,” Sara says, smiling, “Let’s do this.”

Meanwhile, Kara and Lena are making their way back to the window they used on their way in. They successfully make it out of the building and start heading towards a small, forested area that would give them more cover.

They are almost to the tree line when blasts of yellow energy start crossing their path. Kara chances a glance back to see several of the Lanterns firing energy utilizing their own rings. That’s when she sees the impossible, she sees Kiera, standing among the yellow Lanterns.

Kara freezes.

Lena turns back, a few paces ahead of her. “What are you doing? We have to go!”

“It’s Kiera. She is here.”

Lena looks all around but doesn’t see her anywhere. “What are you talking about? She is on the ship with Liam, come on!” Lena runs back and takes Kara’s hand in her own, pulling her into the tree line and out of sight of the energy blasts. Kara quickly rips it away. “No, this is my fault. I should have been able to stop this from happening. What if I can stop it now?”

Kara is now seeing a completely different scene unfold just a few meters from her. She sees herself sitting alone, by several gravestones. She can clearly read them, and it shatters her heart.

_Alex Danvers_

_The world’s best sister, wife, and mother anyone could ask for_

_She gave her life for everyone she loved_

_Lena Luthor_

_The world-saving genius who loved the hardest, in spite of her own upbringing_

_She gave her life for her wife and children_

_Liam Luthor-Danvers_

_Beloved son and brother_

_A hero in his own right_

_Kiera Luthor-Danvers_

_Beloved daughter and sister_

_Had the purest heart of us all_

And she watches as she sees herself crying over the graves of her loved ones. She is frozen in fear as she hears herself.

_“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop this from happening. I’m so so sorry that I caused this. I will come back here every day to make sure you know just how sorry I am.”_

The guilt and shame she can feel emanating off her other self is overwhelming.

Lena sees none of this. She only sees Kara’s face show a heart-breaking expression. “Kara, honey, please listen to me, I don’t know what you are seeing, but it isn’t real. Remember what the yellow Lantern does, it focuses on our deepest fears. Please, listen to me, we have to go before we get caught…” Lena tries to reach Kara, but it has no effect, she is lost to the image of her deepest fears, of losing those closest to her, and of it being her fault.

Lena knows they only have seconds, so she does something she never thought she would have to do (or actually be able to do). She uses her Green Lantern powers and punches Kara with so much force that it knocks her unconscious. She quickly jumps forward to catch Kara in her harms.

“We are most definitely going to have to process this in therapy when we get back to Earth…” Lena mumbles this as she makes a motorcycle with her powers. She gentle places Kara on the front of the bike as she climbs on right behind her and takes off toward their ship.

Lena is relieved to find Ava and Sara had made it back just as she is arriving with Kara. They quickly help Lena bring Kara onto the ship. “What happened?” Ava asks once they are safely on board. Lena leads the way back to the center of the ship and starts preparing for takeoff. Ava and Sara carry Kara, depositing her into a chair and strapping her in for takeoff. “The yellow rings can bring forth your deepest fears. One of them must have locked onto Kara as we fled… I had to knock her out to get us out of there.” Lena hears the engines roar to life as she finishes setting the coordinates for the wormhole they came through. Ava and Sara share a knowing look, but decide not to press further, as Liam suddenly runs into the room. He quickly scans the room and recognizes the urgency.

“Mom, what do you need?”

“Liam, prepare for takeoff, we need to get off this planet quickly.” Liam nods and starts helping Lena prepare for space travel. He has never been one to question his mother in the midst of a crisis, choosing instead to follow orders and then ask questions later. They are just about to lift off when some of the yellow Lanterns come into view, firing off energy blasts at the ship.

“Everyone hold on, this is going to be a rough take off.” With that sentiment, Lena takes off into the sky, fleeing the yellow Lantern Corp members as she guides the ship toward the outer atmosphere and to the wormhole.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Kara finally wakes up, she is alone with Lena on the bridge. Lena is facing away from her; her attention being given to the computer system. Kara looks out the viewing window and can see that they are in space. She winces as she feels her face, feeling the slight heat coming off the fresh bruise on her cheek. This pulls Lena’s attention, who turns to see an awake Kara, she rushes over to her side.

“Hey, easy there. You took a heavy hit.” She sits down next to Kara and examines the bruise closely. Kara watches her closely, her memories from before finally returning to her.

“Lee… I… I didn’t mean to… It was so realistic…”

“Sh… hey now, you did nothing wrong.” Lena takes Kara’s hands in her own, trying to comfort her.

Kara’s eyes fill with tears at the memory of the gravestones. “But… you don’t know… you didn’t see it…”

Lena pulls Kara into a gentle hug, careful to avoid contact with the side of her face that is bruised. “No, I didn’t see whatever it is you saw. That’s the power of the yellow ring. It causes a person to see their deepest fears. But I am here for you if you want to talk about it.”

It’s a few minutes before Kara finally pulls away. “Thank you.” She gives Lena a half-smile. Lena returns the gesture. “Lee… did you knock me out… with your powers?” Lena blushes and drops her head. “I didn’t know what else to do… we had to get out of there…”

“It’s ok, Lena. You did what you had to do.” Lena wants to believe Kara, she really does. But a part of her still feels so guilty for her actions. Before they can dive further into the conversation though, Ava, Sara, and Liam come rushing into the bridge.

“We’ve got it!” Liam exclaims. They all halt when they see that Kara is awake. Lena and Kara turn to face the gang. “It’s ready?” Lena asks. Liam gives her an affirmative nod with a smile. “Is what ready?” Kara asked confused. Lena turns back to Kara. “We used some of the tech on the ship to set up restoring your memories.” Kara looks from Lena to the others and then back to Lena. “It’s ready? Like, I could have my memories back… now?” Lena nods and smiles. She stands up and puts her hand out for Kara, who excitedly takes it. “Let’s do this.”

Kara has to wonder if this is how it felt when her memories were taken from her. She isn’t sure but has hope that she will remember how it felt before, as she sinks further and further into a stasis. She can barely hear Lena, guiding her into the semi-sleep state she will be in so that her brain can focus on recoding and restoring the memories from the machine. Her body feels light, like she could float, even without her powers. She feels tingly too, all over. It’s like nothing she ever felt before. At least from what she can remember. That’s the last thought she has as she sinks into unconsciousness. Once out, Lena initiates the program. And now all she can do is wait.

Kara, on the other hand, is suddenly bombarded with so many memories that she has a hard time making sense of any of them.

She sees herself with a man, sending him away in her own pod. She is crying and quite sad. A name passes through her consciousness. Mon-El.

Suddenly she is then seeing Alex in a giant tank of water, drowning.

Then she sees herself meeting Lena, apparently for the first time. She is with her cousin Clark. She again feels her heart race as she stutters and stammers over her own words, trying to communicate with Lena. She feels that same strong connection that she felt after waking up and meeting Lean for the first time, again.

She sees Winn, saying goodbye to go into the future.

She sees Brainy and Nia on a rooftop, with everyone else, enjoying the day together.

She sees herself, fighting another version of herself. Red Daughter, she realizes.

She sees herself plummeting to the Earth, being dropped by Reign.

She sees herself, watching over a sleeping Lena, who is clearly wearing her National City University sweatshirt.

So many memories. Kara has heard the stories behind many of them, but not all of them. But now, she not only has the memories to go with those stories, but also the raw emotions, all flashing through her with each new memory.

She sees herself, cuddled on her couch with Lena, watching a movie. Again, and again. Always a different movie and slightly different attire. But always her and Lena.

But then she sees her and Lena, at the fortress, yelling and crying. And her being locked away by Kryptonite. She sees herself trying to reach Lena again and again but failing. She feels the overwhelming guilt and anguish that comes with each of these memories.

These are suddenly transcended by memories of her and Lena, defeating Leviathan and then Lex and Lillian. And the following tentative steps that each woman took to get back to each other. She sees their discussion of therapy and their discussion of keeping the relationship private. She recalls the day Lena left for her business trip.

And then she sees it, herself, fighting the alien spacecrafts. Again though, she falls prey to her own deepest fears, causing a panic attack mid fight. The last thing she sees in the memory is her falling, falling, falling back to Earth.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kara awakes with a gasp, sucking in her breath like she couldn’t get enough oxygen in her lungs. Lena gives her hand a squeeze. “Hey, you’re ok, you’re ok, just breathe.” The familiar voice helps center Kara, bringing her back to the present.

And then, her mind starts incorporating all the memories that she just got back, with the memories she has since she woke up. It takes her a moment, before her eyes finally come back into focus. She looks up to see emerald green orbs staring deeply into her own eyes.

“Lena.” The woman before her smiles. “I’m glad you still remember me. How do you feel? Did it work?”

Kara’s memories from before flash through her mind, followed by how Lena treated her, respected her, following the loss of everything about their friendship, falling out, and subsequent relationship. She almost can’t believe how much Lena was willing to give up to make sure she would get what she needed over that time. But then again, she can. Because Lena has always been willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good. On more than one occasion, she almost did. Plus, Kara knows on such a fundamental level within her own being, that Lena Luthor loves her. Like, super duper loves her, more than she has ever loved anyone ever before. So of course, Lena would sacrifice her own happiness to make sure Kara got what she needed when she needed it.

“Kara?” Lena asks, pulling Kara from her bombarding thoughts as she processes the past two years through the filter of her other memories. “You know, I really shouldn’t be surprised that, even without my memories, and without any push from you, that I still found my way back to you.”

“You remember?” Lena asks, her eyes shining with happiness and a hint of tears. “Everything… I remember everything.” Lena pulls her in for a hug, thankful that it worked. As she pulls away, Kara’s opal blue eyes stare deeply into Lena’s, causing Lena to freeze. “You, Lena Luthor, are completely amazing and wonderful, and I don’t know what I did to deserve you in my life, let alone as my life partner.” Lena blushes but Kara doesn’t stop there. “You are my sun and my heart. You give me the strength to get up and fight every day. You give me hope for the future. You are who I want to see when I wake up, every day, from here until forever.”

Lena, now the deepest shade of red her pale cheeks can form, attempts to respond. No words come to her though, as her eyes fill to the brim with tears. All she can do is stare back into the eyes of the love of her life and smile.

Kara pulls Lena in then, their lips meeting just like before, but with so much more meaning and feeling behind them now. It’s an intimate moment between the Super and the Luthor. One that they will both never be able to forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a few days since the last chapter. Work has picked back up this week. But hopefully I finish the story up in the next week! :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara is even more like her adorable, sweet self now that her memories are restored. Some more of the future is revealed. And Kiera reveals parts of her plan, sending Liam and the others into a bit of a panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, I hope you are enjoying the story as we are getting close to the end! :)

“I can’t believe you orchestrated our first kiss, exactly the same way, again!” Kara is blushing, recalling her second time having a first kiss with Lena. Lena smirks at her, her one brow raised. “I orchestrated nothing, Ms. Danvers. The fact that it all played out in a similar fashion was _all_ because of you.”

Kara smiles wide as she reaches across the table and takes Lena’s hands in her own. “Well, clearly we are both winners here, seeing as we both now have memories of our first kiss, twice.” Lena shakes her head at Kara’s antics, but can’t wipe the smile off her own face. Kara releases Lena’s hands, but only so she can return to eating. Lena chuckles as she takes another bite of her salad.

It has been about one Earth day since they made it through the wormhole. Kara was still experiencing flashes in her mind, as her brain worked to integrate the two sets of memories. This resulted in outbursts similar to this one from time to time. Lena couldn’t help but feel the joy at having the full version of Kara again. While she very much enjoyed all of the _firsts_ she got to do _again_ with Kara, she was looking forward to having actual firsts together, now, as two people with no missing memories.

Despite the overwhelming happiness both women have been displaying, they have purposefully been dancing around or outright avoiding any discussion surrounding the captive on the ship, much to Liam’s chagrin. Every time he has come around to attempt to fix the future, Kara evades the subject somehow. And even more annoying to Liam, Lena lets her and doesn’t push it.

Which is how, Liam finds himself once again, sitting outside Kiera’s room. He thinks that maybe, just maybe, he can get her to start talking now that Kara has her memories. And then they can figure out how to change the future, so this never happens - so that Kiera doesn’t become the twisted dark version of herself that he sees before him. Liam peers into the room and finds Kiera laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He stares intently for a moment, watching her.

“I can feel you, brother.” Liam does his best to hide his surprise. “We are related.” Kiera sits up and makes her way to the door, slinking down against the cold metal. “You haven’t been by to check up on me in a while. Those time travelers keep coming to feed me. Apparently even with me on the ship, our _mothers_ still can’t be bothered with me.”

Liam feels the venom in her voice. “We have been a bit busy, you know, trying to fix the mess you created.” Liam feels good, finally standing up to his sister verbally. He has never been able to quite meet her verbal sparring skills. It’s quite frustrating considering he was raised by Lena, after all, and she is the wittiest, quick thinker he knows.

When Kiera doesn’t respond more than a hum, Liam can’t help but ask, “How are you doing, Kiera?”

She scoffs. “Oh, please, like you care.”

“I have always cared, even after you betrayed us.” Liam’s memory of the day they brought Kiera homed flashes through his mind. 

_Liam had just gotten home from school, feeling good about his day when he walked into the living room and saw his moms sitting there with another young woman. She had a wild look about her, her eyes darting around the room and then to Liam, taking him in. She sat between Lena and Kara, each of them holding one of her hands. Liam can see the glistening eyes from freshly shed tears in both of his moms._

_“Liam! You’re home!” Kara says, standing up suddenly. “Who… who is this?” he asked tentatively, not wanting to believe what his heart was yelling to him. That they finally did it, they finally brought his sister home._

_Kara rushes over to him, taking his hand and pulling him back to the couch. “Liam, this is your sister, Kiera. Kiera, this is Liam, he is your brother. We… adopted him when he was ten.” Liam knows that isn’t the full story, but he assumes they don’t want to overload her with that information right now. Liam gives Kiera a slight smile as she meets his gaze. She stares back, blankly._

_“Hi, Kiera. It’s so good to finally meet you.” Kiera attempts a half-smile before looking back to Kara._

_It was all a blur to Liam, as they told Kiera about their life, about Earth during this time. They were so happy to have her home, though she barely talked or even asked any questions. It put Liam a little on edge, not knowing what had happened to her all those years she was gone._

_He finally got a moment alone with Lena as she came into his bedroom that evening._

_“Mom… how… how did we find her? I didn’t know momma K was going on any mission today.”_

_Lena sat down at the edge of his bed. “It happened so fast Liam. We got a call from the Legends mid-morning and Kara was gone. She came back a few hours later, with Kiera in tow. I couldn’t believe it.” Lena still seemed to be processing the entire day herself, though Liam couldn’t help but ask. “Where did we find her? What has happened to her? Do we know who took her?” The questions just fell out of Liam’s mouth. Much like the Luthor’s, he always wanted to know, to understand, to collect all the data he possibly could._

_Lena chuckles slightly, recognizing the rambling as a very distinct Kara move. “Your mom found her in medieval England. She was being hunted and persecuted for being a witch. She of course has powers like you and Kara. And someone saw her use them. Your mom managed to locate her and rescue her before more harm came to her… We don’t know exactly how long she was in that time period, or where she was before, or what she has experienced before that. We are trying to give her plenty of space to adjust before bombarding her with all sorts of questions. She did tell us before you arrived, that her captures never told her any of their name.”_

_Liam nods, taking it all in. He couldn’t believe it. Kiera was finally home._   
  


Memories flood Liam’s mind, flashing from the day they finally found her, to the day she enacted her plan.

_Kiera had been home for a few months now, and Liam couldn’t be happier. Though he was a couple years younger, they spent a lot of time together, learning about each other. Despite not being raised together, and technically being half-siblings, they had much in common. Or so Liam had thought._

_They had just defeated some rogue aliens who were attacking civilians, as a family, when she did it. Kara was all smiles, having finally seen Kiera in action. It was truly a wonderful experience for her. Until Kiera turned on her._

_It happened so fast. Kiera used her superspeed and superstrength to knock into him, quickly turning and taking out Kara. Both of them looked at her in shock, unsure of what to do, of how to proceed._

_“You. Are. So. Gullible. She emphasized each word in the sentence, as she glared, a completely different look in her eyes than Liam had ever seen before. Her voice, once soft and full of kindness, now only spit venom._

_“Kiera… I… I don’t understand.” It was all Kara could manage to say, standing up, not ready at all to fight her own daughter. The daughter that only a few short months ago, she had finally found and reunited with._

_“You left me. You left me alone. You sent me away. What did you expect to happen, mother?” Each statement said calmly, like any hurt, pain, or sadness she had related to that was completely gone. All that was left was a silent rage. Liam gulped as he stood up, ready to follow his mom’s cue._

_“Liam, leave, now.” Kara said it in her commanding Supergirl voice. Liam looked from Kiera to Kara. “But…”_

_“No, leave, now, I mean it. Go to momma L. Please. For me.” While the statement started out firm, it ended in a pleading, begging, tone. Liam nodded and supersped away to get Lena._

_By the time he returned with Lena, Alex was nearly gone._

Liam shakes his head, trying to physically remove his own twisted memories.

“You didn’t have to do what you did, Kiera. You could have chosen a different path.”

“Oh, brother, like I ever had a choice in the matter. When I was taken… I spent years full of hope that my moms would show up and save the day. I barely had any memories of them left, but something inside me told me to keep hoping. But then, then I was shown the truth. How they had forgotten about me, had given up. How they replaced me with you.”

“That isn’t the truth, and you know it.”

“Truth is in the eye of the beholder. And from what I saw, brother, you all were living your life, moving on, without me.”

Liam sighs, knowing this is a losing battle to argue with Kiera about her perception of the truth. “Why did you come back here, Kiera? Why this time period specifically?” He lays his head back against the door, closing his eyes in frustration when he hears her answer. “You know why, brother.” Liam lets his anger get the better of him. “Well, your plan didn’t work; they got her memories back.” The unsettling chuckle that comes from Kiera sends a shiver down Liam’s back. “Good for her.”

Liam’s eyes open again, displaying concern for her nonchalance about this fact. “Kiera, what are you planning?”

“Me? Nothing, I am once again a captive. I mean, at least this time it was on purpose. A free ride back to Earth… But I sure can’t wait to get back to Earth… or what’s left of it.”

Liam sits up straight, suddenly on alert. “What did you do?” Liam’s teeth grind as his jaw hardens, the anger growing in him. Again, Kiera laughs, but this time it comes out as a cackle. “Do you think I didn’t know what you would try to do, once you came back? Do you think, you were the only one who had the thought of changing the future? Oh, little brother, you are so naive. But not for long, don’t worry. Soon enough you will be the one who has changed.”

Liam is gone from the door so quick; one would think his powers were back. He had to warn Kara and Lena. He had to warn his moms.

Liam finds everyone in the control room. Lena is engaged in another intense game of chess with Ava while Sara and Kara are reminiscing about their previous missions and adventures.

“We have a problem…”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kara is the next person to come to see Kiera. Despite the alarm about Earth, everyone knows there is nothing they can do for another several days. Instead, Kara plans to try to reach Kiera, using her unending hope that she carries with her.

She opens the door, stands in the doorway, and looks to Kiera, who is back on the bed, this time sitting up leaning against the wall. Kiera watches her closely but doesn’t move.

“Kiera, I remember you now. You tried to kill me when I went into the future. You told me you had killed me once before.” When Kiera makes no indication that she will reply, Kara continues. “You knew I would be there. You set that trap for me. How did you know I would be there?”

Kiera raises an eyebrow, an eerily similar mannerism to Lena. “You know the fun thing about time travel, is that you get glimpses at so many moments throughout time.” Kara waits, staring intently, silently commanding that Kiera keep talking so that maybe she can get some sort of answer to her question. “What’s amazing is that you can meet people who don’t know you exist yet. It gives you the perfect opportunity to watch them, to study them, to understand them. It makes defeating them later that much easier, but never any less satisfying.”

Kara takes a tentative step into the room. “Kiera, I can’t know for sure what the future holds. But I can say with certainty that I would never stop looking for my own child. I would cross universes to find them.”

“Well, just know, you fail.”

“I don’t have to fail. Now that I know what happens. We could change that, together.”

Kiera scoffs at Kara’s attempt to connect with her. “Oh please. Like you would ever believe a word I say. I am the villain after all. And you have to live knowing that you created me.” Kara knows that Kiera is saying this to get her to react. Thankful for having her full memories back, she can recognize a signature Luthor move from a mile away. She takes another step into the room. “Kiera, you are the master of your own destiny, you get to choose what happens next.”

“I have never had a choice, not since I was taken at four years old, _mother_. I have been created to be a machine of chaos and destruction. And that is exactly what I will bring.”

“Kiera…”

“No, you aren’t hearing me. I have already been bringing chaos and destruction into your life and you didn’t even know it! It was my idea to steal your memories. It was my idea for dear old uncle Lex to reveal your identity to Lena before you could.”

Kara freezes at that last admission and stares darkly at Kiera, speechless. “Oh, that’s right, dearest mom. In the original timeline, you finally told Lena on your own. And while it didn’t go great… it was a much better experience that the year you spent fighting each other. Oh, the chaos was just so utterly destructive, I couldn’t help but revel in it. Watching two people who supposedly love each other, tear each other apart with mere words. Now that was something.”

Kara’s hands ball into fists as she tries to control the rage inside herself. It’s then that she feels a soft hand on her shoulder. She turns slightly to see Lena and relaxes instantly. “Kara, Darling, don’t let her goat you. She won’t give you any answers you seek. Let’s go.” Kara nods and follows Lena out, locking the door behind her. Kiera sits with a wide smirk on her face, staring into the void.

“She has been messing up our lives for years and we didn’t even know it Lena.”

Lena takes Kara’s hand in her own as she leads her back to their room. “We don’t know if that is true. Even if it is, it doesn’t change the past or the future. You and I are here now, and we are going to fix the future, together.” Kara gives Lena a gracious smile. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Lee.”

“Suffer, miserably, of course.” Lena says it sarcastically with a half-smile on her face. Kara can’t help but love Lena and her witty banter. And while Lena was kidding, Kara isn’t sure she could be as happy with anyone else as she has found herself to be with Lena. Even as friends, it was her most important relationship. Lena has always been her person. And a life without her seems completely unfathomable. She knows that the year they spent apart was enough for her.

Kara and Lena sit on the end of the bed, still holding hands. “You are right, you know. My life wouldn’t be nearly as full if you weren’t in it.” Lena softly smiles, her lip trembling at the deep sentiment from Kara. Not finding words to respond, she instead responds with a kiss to Kara’s lips, which elicits a soft sighing moan from the Kryptonian, causing Lena to smile into the kiss, basking in how connected she feels to Kara in this moment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated. :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava and Sara bring the rest of the Legends in to help while Lena and Kara travel into the future.

The days it takes to return to Earth seem to crawl by; everyone anxious about what they will find. Kiera decidedly not talking anymore. They are six hours from Earth when they receive a transmission.

“We have a message.” Sara says, pulling up the video as everyone crowds around. “It’s Alex!” Kara says, before taking in her sister’s appearance more closely. She gasps as she sees that Alex appears injured. Her arm is in a sling and her face and hair have a layer of dirt and blood on them.

Alex is practically yelling into the monitor. “Kara, you cannot come back to Earth. I repeat, do not enter the atmosphere, do not return to Earth. It’s a trap. I repeat, it’s a trap!”

The message is abruptly cut off as an explosion is heard off screen somewhere.

Everyone stands around in silence, unsure of what to say. Kara is standing in shock, still staring at the screen. Beside her, Lena stands, eyeing Kara closely. Sara and Ava stand nearby, holding hands, waiting on the others to decide on what to do. Liam stands back a few paces, anxiety racing through his body as he fixes his face to hide his emotions. Kiera new. She wanted them to go off world. This was all a ploy. The memories didn’t really matter. It was just a manipulation tactic by his sister. The realization sends a chill down his spine.

It’s a full minute before Lena reaches out gingerly and puts her hand on the small of Kara’s back. “Kara, what should we do?” Lena is concerned about this trap. Is it a trap for Kara only? Do they have Kryptonite? Lena’s concern for Kara only grows as her mind races with all the potential scenarios of what could be happening on Earth.

“I… I don’t know… I don’t know what to do.” She looks to Lena for support, maybe for guidance, her eyes filling with tears of frustrating, having realized the same thing as Liam. Kiera manipulated this entire situation. Lena pulls Kara in for a hug, feeling just as helpless as Kara.

Ava and Sara look to each other, a silent conversation as they nod to each other. “I think Sara and I might have an idea.”

Lena and Kara turn to the two time travelers, a look of defeat shifting to slight hope on their faces. “We could summon the Waverider and the Legends. The Legends could return to Earth and tackle whatever mess is going on.”

“What about us?” Lena asks, curious as to exactly what the unfolding plan might be. Ava smiles. “You and Kara take the Waverider and go figure out exactly what happened to your daughter in the future.”

“But Alex is hurt. I have to go save her!” Kara exclaims, worry all over her face. Sara takes a step to be closer to Kara. “Hey, we will get her. We will make sure she is safe, I promise.” Kara’s eyes again fill with tears as she nods. She looks at Lena, asking silently what she thinks.

“Let’s do it.” Lena is firm in her resolute, knowing this might be the one chance they have of changing the future so they can fix the present.

“What about me?” Liam asks, finally joining the conversation. The four women turn to him, “You are in charge of Kiera,” Kara says. “Make sure she doesn’t escape and help with whatever chaos is occurring on Earth right now.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Captains! Supergirl!” Ray proclaims as he joins them on the ship with Nora by his side. “Ray, Nora, you’re back?” Sara asks with a smile. Both of them nod. “You know we couldn’t stay away for too long,” Ray says. “You know this guy missed Nathan too much to stay away,” Nora responds with a smirk. Ava and Sara can’t help but laugh, glad to see their friends again.

“So, what’s the situation?” Ray says. Ava and Sara introduce Lena and Liam before explaining the plan. “So, the Legends come here, and we head to present day Earth, while Lena and Kara head into the future. Sounds good to me.” Ray smiles brightly, believing fully that they can resolve the issue on present day Earth and fully trusting that Lena and Kara can fix whatever happens in the future.

As Ray and Nora contact the Waverider to have everyone join them, Lena says softly to Ava, “Ray is like a super-positive version of Kara… how?” Ava can’t help but laugh at the comment, knowing full well that she is right. “He is also a genius, that’s Ray Palmer, who literally created his own superhero suit that can shrink to the size of a fly or become the size of a skyscraper. Lena looks back at Ray before turning to Ava with an impressed look on her face. “I thought he’d be taller,” and leaves it at that. Of course, Lena has heard of Ray Palmer from Palmer Technology. Though Kara was across the room, her superhearing had started to return and she heard the entire conversation. It made her heart happy for Lena to finally meet and talk to the other Legends.

Once everyone was on board, Lena and Kara were next to go to the Waverider. As they went to leave, Sara sincerely wished them luck. It was a sweet gesture coming from the former assassin. After they leave, Sara turns to her crew. “Alright, let’s go save Earth.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once upon the Waverider, Kara and Lena are greeted by Gideon. “Welcome aboard, Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor.” Lena looks suspiciously around the room as Kara laughs at her. “She is the supercomputer that runs the ship. Hi Gideon, it’s great to be back.” Lena’s eyes go wide, remember that Ava did mention a Gideon the first time they had met. “I have been informed that we will be going a short distance into the future. Can you give me a specific date?” Lena and Kara look at each other, knowing this is the part that will be difficult. All they know is a rough estimate of the year, given Liam and Kiera’s ages and knowing when she was taken. “Well Gideon, here’s the thing…” Kara goes on to explain and give her an estimation of the time they will jump to.

As the two women stare down at National City from the now invisible ship, Gideon announces that they have arrived. The city doesn’t look all that different from up here, but both women feel jittery at the prospect of leaving the ship to find themselves. Kara subconsciously reaches out and intertwines her hand into Lena’s. Lena returns the gesture with a squeeze, followed by a softly spoken “We can do this.” Kara turns towards Lena, a look of determination on her face. “We got this.” And with that, the two embark on their first time-traveling mission together.

Lena and Kara end up needing to make several jumps to find what they are looking for. Before they get to that though, they are given a glimpse of the future, of themselves during this timeline they are so desperate to change.

During their first stop, as it hovered over National City, near Lcorp, they quickly noticed two familiar people on the roof of Lcorp. “Gideon, take us as close as you can to the roof of Lcorp.”

“With pleasure, Ms. Danvers.”

As the ship approaches, they see themselves, apparently having a rooftop picnic for lunch.

“I don’t think this is the right time, Kara,” Lena says. A quick glance at Lena shows her blushing, which makes Kara smile. “Maybe not, but we should be sure. You stay here and I’ll sneak around, we have comms so we can both hear what they are saying.” Lena begrudgingly agrees.

As Kara, with no cape, hovers just off the side of the roof near the table, she listens intently to the two women enjoying lunch.

“I’ve missed doing this,” says future Kara. “Me too, Darling.”

“I would be lying though, if I didn’t miss Kiera just as much… maybe more.” Future Lena chuckles at her wife’s silliness. “I miss her too. But we agreed that she can’t spend every waking moment with us. Her being around other children her age is good for her socialization.”

“I know you’re right Lee… But does it have to be for such a long time?”

“Kara, Darling… she only goes three days a week for four hours. The rest of the time she is with Eliza, who spends all day sending you photos and videos of our daughter.” Kara can practically hear herself grinning ear-to-ear. “Yeah… she’s an amazing grandmother.”

“She is. I was so happy when she moved here to help Alex and Kelly. And even more so when she decided to stick around for our baby girl.”

Kara hears sirens off in the distance. “Alex, what is it?” Kara hears future Kara ask, presumably into her own comms. “I’ll be right there. Lee, there is a massive fire down across town.” Future Lena reaches across and takes Future Kara’s hand in her own. “Go be a hero. I love you.” Kara hears the two women kiss. “I love you too, you and Kiera are my world.” And with that, Kara sees her future self, zooming across the city.

Back on the ship, Lena quickly wipes the tears away just as Kara is returning.

They decide to time travel three months into the future. Unfortunately, during the next time jump, things were not _quite_ so tender and sweet between the Super and Luthor. Gideon informed them that Kara Danvers appeared to be at Catco, so the two decide to go together in disguise. They both use some costumes from the Legends to change their appearance, hair and all. As they make their way into Catco, they get into the elevator and push the bottom for the top floor, but as the door is about to close, they hear a voice yelling to hold the elevator. The voice doesn’t sound frantic, but it does sound angry.

An angry, future Lena just entered the elevator. Kara and Lena give each other a sideways look as they try to act inconspicuous. Luckily for them, future Lena is so enraged and typing away ferociously on her phone to even pay them any notice. As they all exit the elevator onto the same familiar floor, they see Lena march straight into Kara’s office. Lena gives Kara a slight nudge, noticing the title of her job on the door – Editor-in-Chief. Kara looks at the title, mouth agape in disbelief.

Unfortunately for her, she doesn’t have much time to dwell on it, as she hears future Lena talking rather loudly from Kara’s office which now has a closed door.

“Kara Luthor-Danvers. What is the meaning of this?” Lena and Kara look at each other, unsure of exactly what ‘this’ could be. “What? You are always working, always missing dinner. I just figured it would be easier for you to also sleep there.” This harshness coming from future Kara sends a shiver down the spine of both Lena and Kara.

“You know this is temporary until the merger goes through.”

“Lena, it isn’t just me now. We have a daughter. You can’t keep doing this.”

“I told you Kara, once the merger goes through, I can take a step back from Lcorp completely for a while. I just need to make sure everything goes according to schedule and to the plan.”

“You’ve been saying that for two months Lena.”

The fact that both women are using their names instead of nicknames is not lost on present day Kara or Lena. They look at each other, grimacing.

“You’re missing so much. You said you wouldn’t do this anymore. You promised things would be different once we had children. What would you do if something happened to Kiera?”

“That’s not fair.” They hear it, the defeat in Lena’s voice coming out. She is tired. “Fine. I’ll call Sam today and see if she can temporarily come to National City to help complete the merger.” Kara hears future Lena take a few steps to the door and put her hand on the knob. She quickly pulls Lena away from the office, turning them around to face away from future Lena. They hear her open the door. “Please let me know if I am allowed home tonight or if I should sleep at Lcorp, like you said in your text.” Future Lena is saying it out into the hallway, too exhausted and upset to face future Kara. Not looking, Kara and Lena can hear the tears she is fighting back. So can future Kara.

“Lee… wait.”

But it was too late, Lena was already trudging to the elevator. Her tears drowning out the sound of Kara’s voice.

“I… she… she will chase after her… I always chase after you.”

“Except when you didn’t, Kara.” Lena gives Kara a knowing look, as the memory of being called a villain flashes through both of their minds. “Regardless, surely they make up at some point, and Kiera is clearly still here, so we are still too early,” Lena finishes, trying to keep both of their minds on the task at hand and not on their history. Or their potential future arguments.

“Let’s just get back to the ship,” Kara says, a hint of sadness in her voice.

They again jump three months. “Gideon, can you locate Supergirl or Kara Danvers?”

“According to my data, neither Kara nor Lena of this time have been seen at work for several weeks.” Kara and Lena both perk up, trying hard to forget the interaction they saw previously and focus on the present. “This might be it, lets try and find them, maybe they are at home.”

Kara and Lena make their way to their apparent home in the future, a massive penthouse in the city, nearby where Lena’s current penthouse is. Using her x-ray vision, Kara confirms that no one is home. Lena has a weird feeling, so she says, “Let’s go inside and look around, see if we can maybe figure out where our future selves might be.”

As they make their way around the home, they can’t help but notice all of the family photos splattered around the house, in every room and every hallway. There are plenty from their wedding and honeymoon, but even more of them with Kiera. It is all a bit overwhelming for the two women, seeing a future they aren’t sure they will have, if all goes according to plan.

They are in their own future bedroom when they hear a noise in the living room. They freeze and listen intently. They hear what sounds like a drink being poured.

“You’re going to drink now?” Lena and Kara can clearly hear the frustration in future Kara’s voice. She is apparently exasperated at future Lena. “This is the 20th lead we have had that has ended up being a dead end, Kara. So yes, I am going to have a drink. We have been chasing Kiera’s kidnappers for six weeks. I am tired Kara.”

Lena and Kara can tell just by the sound of her voice that Lena is beyond tired. She is exhausted emotionally and physically.

“We will find her Lee, I promise.”

“And what if we don’t? What if one bad decision haunts me for the rest of my life?” Kara hears future Lena down her drink, setting the empty glass down on the counter, and pouring another.

“Hey, this isn’t your fault. We had no idea that her new teacher wasn’t who they said they were.”

“But I should have known Kara. I do thorough background checks on every single person our daughter ever interacts with. How did I miss this one?”

“Alex missed it too, you know. Of course, she also does background checks on everyone too.” Future Lena laughs harshly at future Kara’s attempt to make her feel better, wanting so badly to be left alone to ruminate in her own self-loathing thoughts.

“Speaking of, we should go check in with her now that we are back. Maybe they finally have a new lead on who this mystery person is.”

“Kara… I’m useless. Just leave me here.”

Lena and Kara hear future Kara walk up to future Lena. She gingerly takes the glass out of future Lena’s hand. “Lee, you are not useless. You are an amazing person. And together, we will figure out who did this and make them pay. But right now, we have to not lose hope that we will find Kiera.” Future Lena lets out a ragged breath. “Everything just hurts so much right now.” Future Kara pulls her in for a hug. “I know, but I’ve got you. We can get through this together.”

It’s a few minutes as future Lena quietly cries into future Kara’s shoulder, finally letting herself feel the buildup of emotions she has been holding in since Kiera’s kidnap. When future Lena finally pulls away, Kara asks softly, “Ready to go?” She must nod, because shortly after that Lena and Kara hear the two women exit onto the balcony and fly away.

Lena and Kara look at each other, their hearts aching for the lose they haven’t actually yet experienced. Finally, Kara says, “Ok… so… it happened sometime between now and our last jump. And it has something to do with one of Kiera’s teachers. So maybe we finally have something to go off. Let’s get back to the ship and see what we can find out.” Lena nods affirmingly as the two women make their way out of their future home.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in the present, things escalate quickly...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Time travel is confusing. I had a plan for how I was going to handle it... but that ended up changing as the story progressed and unfolded. I hope this isn't too confusing and you like how I deal with it (you see more of that in the next chapter). 
> 
> 2\. I struggle with writing action/fight sequences. So I apologize in advance for that. 
> 
> 3\. It has been a blast going on this journey with you all. I hope you like these last few chapters. :)

Lena and Kara have only been gone a few hours. The Legends have only returned to Earth an hour ago. Liam sits on the spaceship, hidden on Earth, waiting for any news from either party. At first, he paced the ship, but he quickly found himself sitting outside of Kiera’s room, carefully watching and waiting. Despite having her powers back now that they are back under a yellow sun, she hasn’t even attempted to break out. It’s making Liam uneasy.

Try as he might, Liam can’t keep his mind from wandering, as he is flooded with memories of his mothers. Today, one in particular haunts him. It is from a time shortly after Aunt Alex is killed by Kiera, when momma K insisted Lena protect him instead of fight Kiera.

_Liam was supposed to be resting, be asleep. But he was haunted by the change in his sister, it happened so quickly. He had been laying in bed for hours when he finally decided to venture down to the kitchen for some water. As usual, Liam uses his superhearing first to check whether anyone else was awake. Which is when he heard them, his mothers, in a quiet but intense conversation on the other side of his home._

_“Kara, we can’t split up now. We are a family. We need to stick together.”_

_“No, Lee, please, trust me on this. I can’t focus on stopping Kiera if I am concerned about your safety. About Liam’s safety. She killed Alex! There is no telling who she will go for next. We got everyone else taken care of. Now I need you and Liam to go, so I know you are both safe.”_

_“We can’t leave you. You know how stubborn we both are. It’s the Luthor in us.” Lena is trying hard to get Kara on her side, even using humor to try to deescalate the situation. “We can stay here and”_

_“NO Lena. Just no. This isn’t up for debate. I need you to promise me you will do everything in your power to protect Liam. That is all I ask. If… If Kiera… if she wins… promise me, you will do everything in your power to protect our son.” Kara’s eyes shed tears as she begs her wife for this one thing, desperation seeping from her voice._

_Lena lets out a long, ragged breath. “I’ll do anything for you, Kara.” They pull into each other, hugging and then find themselves kissing in desperation, trying hard to fix the pain radiating from both of them, knowing nothing can change the way both of them feel in that moment. Both carrying the weight of failure, shouldering the burden of blame for not finding Kiera sooner. When they pull apart, both are crying silently, the heaviness of the events of the past few days finally catching up with them._

_“You’ll leave tomorrow with Liam. You can’t tell me where you are going, just in case.”_

_“I know… Kara, no matter what happens, I will always love you.”_

_“I will always carry you in my heart, Lena.”_

_It would be the last time Lena sees Kara alive._

“Are we back on Earth, little brother?” Kiera pulls Liam from his rabbit hole of memories. He grits his teeth, feeling the heaviness of the memory like it had just happened. He lets out a sigh before responding. “Can’t you feel it? Your powers returning?” He knows Kiera is toying with him, but he is too tired to care anymore. He is ready for this to be done, to be over.

“Something wrong, little brother?” The taunting seems to annoy him more than it usually does. “What do you want, Kiera?” He hears her stand up and walk towards the door. “Oh, just wanted to see whether anything has changed since we’ve been gone, that’s all.” Liam can practically hear her wicked grin. He doesn’t bother with a comeback, instead he asks the one question he has.

“Why haven’t you tried to break out? You have your powers back.”

“That is an astute observation dear brother. The fact is I won’t need to break out, because _you_ are going to let me out very soon.”

“Why in the world would I do that?”

“Because, right now, my companions are changing your timeline. They will change your entire existence.”

Liam freezes, taking stock of himself. He has been much more emotional since returning to Earth, having difficulty reigning in his reaction to memories or to his sister. He looks himself over and doesn’t notice any differences physically. Until he puts his hand on his face and feels it. A scar. It’s light, barely there, but there none the less. It is something he didn’t have just fifteen minutes ago.

Liam is running across the ship back to his room, concerned that Kiera is right, that he will end up betraying everyone he loves. He does the one thing he swore he wouldn’t. He sends a mayday message into the future, to the Lena he left behind. After which, he promptly locks himself in his own room, hoping deeply that it isn’t too late, and that his mom can help him.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, on Earth in the present, the Legends are with Alex and the other heroes, trying to stop the attacks happening across National City. Even Saint Walker and Tomar-Tu are helping. It’s an intense battle, with a dozen yellow Lantern’s attacking highly populated areas, causing the group to split up in groups of 3 to take on different zones of the city. Apparently, while many of them had been off Earth where Kiera had gone, some of them had stayed behind on the planet, waiting to attack.

Alex figures it out, just a second late. Everyone hears it on the comms before it is suddenly cut off. “These are distractions everyone. Their main target is the DEO. If you can, hurry back to the DEO. We are under attack. I repeat, we are under-”

Nia, Brainy, and J’onn had been fighting near the DEO, and immediately make a beeline for the DEO once they had managed to incapacitate three yellow lanterns. When they arrive, they can clearly see where a bomb went off, as debris is everywhere. They see a few DEO agents on the premises and after a quick search, find Alex buried under some rubble. She is alive but trapped. J’onn uses his powers to rescue Alex as Nia helps other Agents recover from the blast and Brainy works to get comms restored.

“J’onn, he came for Lex’s location,” Alex says, sputtering and coughing the dust that had gotten into her lungs. He nods and takes off for the site where Lex is being held, relaying the information to the Legends, and asking for backup from anyone that can get there.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lena and Kara, landing the Waverider next to their spaceship back in the present, make their way to the ship to check on Liam and Kiera, and figure out what exactly is happening in present day. They make their way onto the ship, heading towards Liam’s room. Their systems go into high alert upon seeing Liam’s door torn open, hanging from the hinges. They turn and head straight to Kiera’s room. They freeze when they see that it is open. “Liam? Kiera?” Kara asks cautiously.

“Why hello there, mothers.” It’s Kiera talking as she walks from around the corner, once again dawning that dark smirk of hers. “So glad you came back to see us.”

“Where is Liam?” Lena demands. “Oh, dear brother is right here.” And with that, Liam follows from around the corner. But this isn’t the Liam that was left behind. This Liam looks older, has a scar on his face, and his attire has complete changed to a simply black version of a supersuit, something akin to what Kara likes to wear when under the influence of red kryptonite. He no longer has eyes full of hope and compassion, but instead appear dark… empty… lifeless.

“They don’t seem that powerful, sister.” His voice too, has changed. No longer light and airy, he speaks in a lower octave.

“What happened to him?” Lena asks, seeing clearly that Kara is shocked by the changes in Liam since their departure. “Who? Me? I’ve embraced my true self.”

“You messed with the timeline.” Kara says it, barely a whisper, but everyone hearing her clearly. Kiera’s widening grin answers the question without words. “Feel free to try to stop us, just know that you couldn’t stop me by myself. So how could you ever stop both of us?”

And with that, an intense battle begins. Lena using her green lantern ring to try to capture her two rouge children. Kara using her Supergirl powers to battle them while also trying to use her blue lantern ring to increase Lena’s powers. Liam and Kiera use their own powers to their full advantage, quickly getting between their parents so Kara can’t supercharge Lena’s ring. And so, the battle rages on, with the four quickly finding themselves out of the ship and into the sky or on the land. It’s intense as Lena and Kara are trying hard not to do much more than defend themselves from their children, who are not holding back.

Eventually, Kiera and Liam gain the upper hand, working in sync like they’ve been doing this for years. With the new timeline, perhaps they have. They manage to knock Lena down and she hits her head on a nearby rock, causing her to lose consciousness. With her out of the way, Liam and Kiera focus on Kara together. Now being two against one, Kara has an even harder time managing herself in the fight, especially because all she wants to do is make sure Lena is okay. Which is exactly what her children take advantage of. First, by taunting her, getting her to lose focus. Then by swooping in to finish her off.

“You couldn’t save us. You can’t save your precious Lena. You are useless.”

Enraged, Kara lunges after Kiera for what she said. And that’s when Liam strikes, driving himself into Kara’s center. She rolls over and tries to recover but is quickly bombarded with punch after punch from Liam. She catches a glimpse of Lena, still unconscious across the field, as she takes blow after blow from her son, until finally she begins to actually bleed. It’s reminiscent of when she first fought and lost to Reign, or when she fought and died at the hands of Red Daughter.

Barely conscious, Kara’s eyes flutter open to see Liam and Kiera standing over her, glaring down at her, before they shutter closed, too weak to fight.

“Well, now what?” Liam asks. Kiera smiles. “We take their DNA for the matrix and kill them.” There is no pause in her voice, the hatred clear. “With my companion ensuring we get Uncle Lex and Grandma Lillian; the matrix will be set up ahead of schedule and we can ensure that both of us are born. Kryptonians will once again have a home planet and we will use the birthing matrix to repopulate the planet. Based on your new attitude, brother, I would say we already won and did just that.” Liam half-smiles and nods with his eyes in slits as he stares at the scene before him. His mind, however, is clouded of images on a spacecraft. Time spent playing chess with Lena, of training with Kara and Lena both. It’s like a dream. He shakes it aside, trying to focus on the task at hand.

As they turn their attention back to Kara, Kiera takes out a small blade. “This was a gift from the future. It is lined with enough Kryptonite to pierce the skin of a Kryptonian, but not enough to cause problems for just being exposed to it. Contact is necessary.”

Lena is coming to when she sees the scene in front of her. It all happened so quickly. Kiera went to stab Kara with a blade, and out of nowhere it seemed, someone was in front of Kara, taking her place. Lena shakes her head, trying to understand what her brain is telling her. Because if she didn’t know better, she was looking at herself. Well, not exactly herself. This Lena was older and appeared much more battle worn.

And now a six-inch blade was in her gut.

“What is this?” Kiera exclaims, glancing from the Lena in front of her to the one 20 yards away, still half knocked out. But the Lena before her isn’t focusing on her, she instead looks at Liam, who unconsciously takes a step back. “Liam… please… remember…”

And just like that, Liam is trying to reconcile two _very_ different set of memories in his mind. One where he grew up with his sister as his only family. And the other where he was a young boy who was taken in by Lena and Kara, despite how he came to be. They made him feel wanted and whole, while they also continued to try to find Kiera. And his memory is flooded with the reunion of the family, of his first meeting with Kiera, of how she befriended him. And especially how she betrayed them all, killing Aunt Alex and then eventually Kara herself. He struggles to understand what all this means, to figure out which memories are real. And future Lena can see it in his eyes. “Liam… trust yourself.”

Suddenly, a memory of the first time Liam went into battle with Kara and Lena flashes through his mind. That’s exactly what she said then, too. And just like that, Liam knows what he has to do.

“Liam, brother, come on. Don’t listen to this… this imposter. I am not sure where she came from, but it doesn’t matter, we just need to finish the mission.”

“You’re right, Kiera. I need to finish the mission.” He launches himself at Kiera, not holding anything back as they engage in a heated battle into the sky.

Meanwhile, future Lena falls to the ground as Kara’s eyes finally open back up. She sits up and pulls Lena into her, cradling her. “Hey… Lee… sh… it’s ok… I got you.” Lena smiles up at Kara’s face, reaching her hand up to cup her cheek. “Hey… you…” Kara’s eyes fill with tears. “Why would you do that Lee? You didn’t have to do that for me.”

“I… couldn’t… let you… die… again.” Lena’s lips are now traced with blood as she continues to smile up at Kara, despite her impending death.

“I promise I’m going to fix this; I’m going to make sure none of this comes to pass. I promise you will get to be happy and raise your kids.” Kara pulls Lena in for a hug and holds her tightly but gently.

It’s a few minutes before present day Lena makes her way forward, cautious as she is unsure exactly what to say or do in such a situation. She stands a few steps away, watching the woman she loves cry over a future version of herself. After another minute, she bravely steps forward and puts a hand on Kara’s shoulder. Kara looks up to her, still crying. “We are going to fix the future Lee. We have too. This can’t be how you die.”

Kara gentle gets up and carries future Lena onto the ship, laying her down in an unoccupied room. Lena silently follows, with only one thought on her mind. _We are definitely going to have to talk about this in therapy._

“Lena, Kara, are you there?” It’s Liam on the comms, which are apparently finally back up and running.

“We are here Liam.” Kara responds, her voice hard from the unprocessed events of the past ten minutes.

“It’s Sinestro. He is responsible for Kiera’s kidnapping. The reason we couldn’t figure it out is because he was from the past. He wasn’t from my time. He isn’t alive at that time.”

“Liam, where is Kiera?”

“She got away… I think she went to help him get to Lex. It sounds like there is a battle raging outside the city.”

“Go, help them. We will take care of the rest.” With that, the two women exit the ship and head back to the Waverider, knowing now what they have to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am on insta and twitter @forever_angsty if you want to come chat about the confusingness of time travel, supercorp, or anything else really.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena and Kara make one more trip in time in order to fix their present and the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I write this today instead of doing actual work? Mayyyyyybe.

“One more time jump Gideon.” Kara announces, a fierce look of determination on her face. “Where are we heading this time?” Gideon asks, her 3D face appearing in the center of the room. Lena and Kara give each other a look, knowing exactly when they have to go to, but afraid of exactly what they will find when they do. Lena takes Kara’s hand as she informs Gideon of the exact day in the future they are going to.

As they exit the Waverider, they present a united front, hand-in-hand. They had decided to approach future Lena first, figuring she might be the more receptive of the two on this particular day. It is late afternoon, approaching dinnertime when they land on the balcony of Lcorp. They watch future Lena turn from her desk, a smile on her face, as if she could feel Kara’s presence and was relieved that she finally came. But as quick as that emotion registered on future Lena’s face, it was wiped away by what she saw before her. She cautiously walked to her balcony door and opened it, though it wasn’t locked.

Future Lena stands in the doorway, arms crossed. “Who are you?” She is terse with them. Lena looks at Kara, an unreadable expression on her face. She turns back to her future self. Kara and Lena had agreed preemptively that it was her role to convince her future self of their identities. “I’m you, from the past.”

A smirk appears on future Lena’s face. “Prove it.” Lena sighs, she had predicted this exact response from herself. “We still wear the necklace our mother left us. It’s the last thing we have from our biological mother.” Future Lena eyes them skeptically. “Anyone who reads minds would be able to get that information from me. Try again.”

Kara gives Lena’s hand a squeeze as she looks at her and whispers, “I’ve got this.” With that, she drops Lena’s hand and walks confidently to future Lena, who gasps. “Sorry, not sorry,” is all Kara says before she wraps her arms securely around future Lena and pulls her in for a kiss. It’s a heated, passionate kiss, and Lena simply stares, unable to look away. It’s like she is having an out of body experience, watching Kara kiss her, except that it isn’t her, exactly.

Lena finally clears her throat, causing the two women to pull away. Future Lena chuckles. “Well, you can’t fake that.”

“I’m sorry my current, future, whatever self is being so unforgiving today.” Lena’s brow raises into the air. “How do you know that?” Kara takes a step back. “We were here before… earlier today… at Catco.” Future Lena’s eyes go wide as her mind races before she finally settled on the most important matter at hand. “Why are you here?”

Lena steps up to Kara, again taking her hand. “It’s about Kiera.”

Once Lena and Kara finish telling future Lena everything, she sits back in her chair. They had migrated to her office as the story progressed. Lena and Kara took up a familiar position on the couch as future Lena sat behind her desk, taking it all in.

“So… you’re say… in a matter of weeks someone will not only kidnap our daughter… but they will successfully keep her hidden from us for 15 years?”

“Give or take… yeah…” Kara lets out a ragged breath as she confirms this, the emotional turmoil of it all finally starting to settle in. “So… we are here so you can keep that from happening. And we can avoid all of this.”

“How?” Future Lena’s desperation coming through loud and clear. Kara swallows her breath as the memory of the even older Lena giving her life for this cause flashes through her mind. “It’s a faction of rouge yellow Lantern Corp members and their leader.” Kara goes on to talk about the connection with her memory loss.

“Wait, that is different from what I remember happening,” future Lena blurts in. “You got your memory back sooner than that… your memories… they never got stolen… I think… it’s weird… I feel like I have these… these mixed memories… some of them feel more like a dream and less like a memory.” Lena looks at Kara concerned before looking back at herself. “It’s the timelines… they are blurring from all the time travel.”

That’s when it dawns on Lena. “Oh… maybe the reason we couldn’t find Kiera in the future is because she wasn’t even on Earth. I mean, in the future, we time travel a lot looking for her, but we are always looking on Earth…”

Future Lena follows her train of thought, taking an even bigger leap. “This has Lex’s stench all over it.” Lena pauses, taking in this observation. It is quite a methodical plan. And explains why the yellow Lanterns are so hell bent on breaking Lex out of the DEO facility.

“But Lex is back in prison,” Future Lena says, trailing off. Kara’s eyes go wide. “But he wasn’t always. We know he broke out in the future from Liam.” Future Lena, still confused, says, “He did break out, but we caught him and put him right back in within a matter of days.”

Lena smirks. “Days were all he needed to set this up. He probably had the entire plan crafted before he ever broke out… and with the powers of a yellow Lantern member like Sinestro… he could have easily shown Kiera whatever Lex wanted, in order to manipulate her emotionally, to essentially brainwash her. Lex would have had an entire playbook for that by now.”

Future Lena nods, conceding the point. “Ok… so… we change my present to keep Kiera safe and that will help fix the past… and the future.”

“Right.” Kara and Lena say at the same time.

“So, what’s the next step?” Future Lena asks. “Well…” Kara starts, “We need to get future me, your actual wife, on board.” With that remark, future Lena’s face drops. “You saw what happened today. I haven’t heard a word from her since then. I had planned on just staying the night here if-”

It’s at that moment that a knock interrupts future Lena’s verbal contemplation. After the knock, the door slowly opens. “Lee? Are you here? I brought food from your favorite place in Italy.” Future Kara sees a Lena and Kara sitting on the couch and reacts instinctively, using her superspeed and strength to pull Kara off the couch and pin her to the wall. Kara doesn’t fight her, trying not to escalate the situation.

“Who are you?!” Future Kara demands. She hears Lena clear her throat and say “Darling?” but it comes from the wrong direction. Future Kara turns her head slightly to look at Lena on the couch, confused. Lena smiles shyly at future Kara and simply points to her front desk. Future Kara turns her head the other way to look at the desk and sees the other Lena, who is smiling at her. “They are us, from the past. Please put yourself down.” She turns back to face herself, who is giving her a toothy grin. She lets her go and she floats back to the ground.

Future Lena stands up and waltzes to her wife. “Thank you for coming, for always taking care of me, even when I don’t take care of myself.” She kisses her wife deeply, with so much emotion. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.” They kiss again, briefer than before. “Where is Kiera?” Future Lena asks. “She is at home with Eliza.”

They then turn back to face the other versions of themselves as future Kara says to them, “If you are here, something must be very messed up with the timeline.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kara and Lena arrive back to the present and immediately take off for the site Lex is being held at. The scene they come upon is utter chaos and destruction. There are yellow Lantern Corp members all around. They see Nia and the others all in action, fighting the rouge Lanterns.

“Lena, Kara, is that you?” They hear Alex on the comms. “I’m quarterbacking from the DEO, trying my best despite my injured arm.”

“Where is Liam and Kiera?” Kara says rather demandingly. “The last time I saw, they were flying through the air trading punches.” Kara and Lena look at each other. Gideon said that changes to the timeline would take time in their current present state, kind of like a wave rolling out into the ocean and slowly spreading out. They knew all they had to do was buy enough time for the effects to take place.

“You get the kids. I’m going after my brother.” With one final look, the two women split up.

Kara takes to the air, scanning the chaos below and around to try to find Liam and Kiera. It takes a moment before she finally spots them in the distance, fighting in and above a small patch of forest just north of the DEO prison. She takes off in their direction.

Meanwhile, Lena heads into the DEO facility to find her brother. As she is racing down the hallway, she stops when she comes upon Sinestro. He wears a wicked smile, apparently, he had been waiting for her. Lena stops and grits her teeth, prepared to once again use her new powers.

“You must be Sinestro.” Lena’s jaw is tight, her entire body preparing to react.

“Ah, the great Lena Luthor, the newest member of the Green Lantern Corp. I look forward to demolishing you.”

With that, Sinestro launches an energy blast at Lena as he goes running towards her. Lena easily blocks the energy blast and becomes quickly engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the rouge alien. Lena quickly summons a small shield and a whip to battle the yellow Lantern leader, who attempts to overpower Lena using brute strength of his yellow power ring. Their intense battle rages inside the DEO facility as the other heroes are occupied just outside by the other Lanterns.

The battle continues… until suddenly… it’s over. All the yellow Lanterns suddenly disappear, completely. Not all at once, per se, but one after the other, as time catches up with each of them and transports them to wherever time would have them be now, back in their original time.

“Time has caught up with us,” Lena whispers to herself as she makes her way down the hallway and continuing on until she finally finds Lex, still sitting in his cell.

“Sister? Here to rescue me from this insufferable place?” His voice is still full of snark, Lena observes. “Oh no, just making sure you are where you are supposed to be.” Lex chuckles as he stands up and approaches the clear door. “What was all that commotion? If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought there was a prison break going on.” His smile does nothing to hide his excitement about this potential outcome. “Oh, don’t worry, brother. Kara and I stopped it.” Lena knows she can’t say much more than that, or she risks giving away exactly what they have done with time travel. She needs Lex to go through with his same plan in the future.

“Well, isn’t that just a pity. But I suppose that just gives me more time to come up with my own escape plan.” He is taunting her, and she knows it. But instead of giving in to his antics, this time she simply smiles at Lex and walks away as she says, “see you in hell, brother.”

Meanwhile, in the midst of trying to throw herself in between Liam and Kiera, all of a sudden, the two young half-Kryptonians pause and look at each other, confused. Kara takes that opportunity to step in between them. “Ok ok ok… you can stop fighting each other now.” Liam and Kiera look at Kara, even more confused. “Why were we fighting?” Liam asks. “Did one of us get infected with Red-K again?” Kiera asks.

Kara can’t help but take in this new Kiera, completely different than the Kiera she had seen these past few weeks. “No… not exactly… the important thing is that you are both… good.” Kara isn’t sure how to word it without saying too much. She doesn’t want to trigger any weird dream-like memories Kiera might have and cause her to relapse. Gideon said it might take longer for memories to solidify once the timeline was altered.

“Mom… don’t take this the wrong way… but you look… young.” Kara couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s because the two of you are in the past…”

“Why?” Liam asks, still confused. “Well… if Gideon is right… you two will probably, very soon, return to your time, with no memory of being here.”

“I’m still confused,” Liam proclaims. Kiera laughs. “Oh, little brother. It’s time travel. Nothing ever makes sense with time travel. Keep up, will ya?” The light teasing between the two siblings is something unreal to Kara, it reminds her of her relationship with Alex once they had finally bonded.

“Ok, quickly, give me a hug before time catches up to you.” She pulls Liam and Kiera into a giant hug, tears falling down her cheek unceremoniously. “I love you both, so much.” Kara pulls away from them, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Aw, mom. Don’t worry, it’s like you always say, we got the best traits from you and Momma Lee. We are the best versions of ourselves because of you.” With that sentiment from Liam, he looks down and notices himself fading. Kiera notices too. Kara smiles sadly at them. “I’m so happy I got the chance to meet you both, and I cannot wait for my own future.” She says it to two smiling half human, half Kryptonian children as they fade away, being transported to wherever and whenever they are supposed to be now with the new events of this timeline.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kara finds Lena a short while later, helping with any injuries from the battle. Kara quickly starts helping with her Blue Lantern powers, healing any injury she can. Lena looks at her, and without having to ask verbally, Kara knows what she is asking. Kara wanders closer to her and softly says “They faded, just like everyone else here that was out of their original time. Without Kiera setting everything into motion, none of them ended up traveling through time, and so everything was… reset I guess.”

“Including Liam and Kiera,” Lena finishes, confirming the truth with sadness in her voice. “I wish I could have said goodbye to them. I wish I could have seen the not-evil version of Kiera.” Kara pulls Lena in for a hug. “I know… I hugged them for the both of us… and we will see them again in the future, I promise.” Lena pulls away and forces a smile on her tearful face. She never knew she could miss someone she hadn’t technically raised yet. Kara tries to give Lena a brave smile, but she is also a bit sad on the inside. She suddenly wishes her blue lantern powers could also heal emotional pain so she could take away some of the burden Lena is currently carrying.

Alex arrives a short while later and Kara heals her arm as well. “All better!” She says as she pulls Alex into a hug. “Not that I am not grateful, but what is the hug for?” Kara half-smiles. “I’m just so glad to have you as my sister. I could have ended up with anyone when I crashed on Earth. I’m thankful it was your family.” Alex is taken aback by Kara’s sudden gratitude. She ends up pulling Kara back in for another hug, as she attempts to reign in her own tears that fight to let loose.

Finally, everyone makes their way back to the ships, and goodbyes are given to the Legends. Alex gives Rory a case of beer as a thank you, which even makes him smile for once. Sara and Ava stay behind a few minutes to wish Kara and Lena the best, before following their crew onto the ship and departing. The other heroes then gather around, and bid Saint Walker and Tomar-Tu farewell, as they leave in their ships, confident that Kara and Lena can protect Earth for now.

Once all spacecrafts have departed, Kara looks around to her friends, to her found family, with a smile and glint of tears. Nia speaks up first, “So… now what?” And Kara can’t help but respond with “How about a game night to celebrate?” Kara feels Lena’s hand latch into her own. “That sounds wonderful, Darling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't tell if this chapter feels rushed or not, so I hope it doesn't.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at the life of Lena and Kara after fixing the timeline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I write a chapter entirely of fluff to end this story? Yes, yes I did. No regrets. :)

It’s been a month since the attack by the yellow Lanterns and future Lex. And for Lena and Kara, they couldn’t be better. It wasn’t just the lessons learned from having a potential future where they lose their child. There were some lessons learned from seeing future versions of themselves, sometimes happy… other times… not so much. The vision of themselves has led them back to a familiar thing – couples therapy. And while Lena loves to sarcastically joke about all of the weird things that they need therapy for, like meeting your future self only to see her sacrifice herself for Kara, she takes therapy seriously. She falls back on her old positive coping strategies, like focusing on her work-life balance, making sure she does things like exercising and writing, and making time for Kara of course. For Kara, her focus has been on accepting all of the events that have happened since losing her memory and then having them restored. Needless to say, their therapist has her work cut out for herself. She is used to high profile cases but superheroes and time traveling shenanigans are new. She doesn’t mind though. In fact, Lena and Kara quickly become some of her most favorite patients.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s several months later. Lena walks into her penthouse and kicks her heels off, leaning back against the door and letting out a long, ragged breath. It’s already 8pm, having had to work longer than she normally does thanks to some oversea investors and the time difference. She drags her exhausted body to the kitchen to find something to eat. But, as she makes her way further into her home, she stops just short of the kitchen, seeing a table set for dinner in the dining area. And a Kara sitting at the table, smiling.

“Kara?!” Lena asks surprised. “You weren’t supposed to be back from Gotham until tomorrow!” She makes her way over to her girlfriend, who pulls her into her lap. “Well, I didn’t want to spend one more day away from you. I was ready to be home.” Kara snuggles into Lena’s neck, taking in her familiar scent. “I missed you too.” Lena cups Kara’s chin and pulls her up for a kiss that quickly deepens and intensifies.

“The food, sweetie,” Kara whispers between kisses. Lena can feel her smiling as she kisses her. “You can reheat it, Darling.” And with that, Lena is no longer thinking about food, but about the strong and tender arms that have picked her up and are carrying her to the bedroom as they continue kissing. Lena nibbles Kara’s lip, eliciting a quiet moan from Kara as her mouth opens and grants Lena access. She may have been exhausted just a few minutes ago when she got home, but now Lena is anything but, ready to show Kara just how much she missed her.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s a few days later that Lena decides it’s time. She decides she is ready. She wasn’t always ready. Even after knowing their future. She was certain she would find a way to mess it up. But now, now she feels ready.

So, Lena being Lena, does what she does best when trying to express her feelings for Kara. She spends entirely way too much money. Because Lena Luthor does not do small declarations of love.

The best part to Lena, is that Kara genuinely has no idea. Alex managed to not say a word but promised Lena that absolutely no Supergirl emergencies would happen. Nia, Brainy, and the others all agreed to be on Superhero duty for the entire time, so that Kara wouldn’t be needed. The gang all ended up sitting around the DEO playing board games, because apparently the universe had also decided that National City was getting a day off from major criminal activity or any other hazardous events.

Lena arrives at Kara’s early, having slept at their respective places last night because Kara was finishing up an article for Catco and Lena was supposedly finalizing some paperwork for a new science subdivision of Lcorp. In reality, she was finalizing the plans for today. Lena lets herself into the apartment and makes her way to a sleeping Kryptonian. She sits on the bed and lightly runs her hand up an exposed arm. “Darling, time to wake up.”

“hm… five more minutes.” Lena laughs. “But I have a surprise for you.” At the word surprise, Kara’s eyes shoot open. “Is it a puppy?!” She asks excitedly. Again, Lena chuckles. “No, Darling, this surprise requires you to get out of bed and get dressed. Our flight leaves in ten minutes.” Kara’s eyes go wide, “Ten minutes?!” And with that, she superspeeds out of bed and reappears a few seconds later, freshly showered and dressed. “I’m ready!” Kara has a giant smile on her face, never one to turn down a surprise.

Lena stands up, smiling back at the love of her life. “Good. Let’s go.” She turns and walks out of the room and Kara follows. “Where are we going?” Lena heads towards Kara’s windows instead of the front door. Again, Kara follows. “Today I am taking you, the love of my life, to my three favorite places on this planet.” And with that, she takes Kara’s hands in her own. “We are flying via Supergirl Airlines so we can make it to all three today. I hope that’s ok.” Kara’s smile is absolutely beaming now, and there is a hint of a tear in her eye. “Absolutely, just tell me where I am taking you.”

“Our first stop is a small town in Ireland.” With that, Kara swoops Lena up into her arms and the two take off into the air, flying high enough to be a blur to anyone below, but low enough for Lena to be comfortable. For Lena, all she needs is the warmth of being held by Kara.

The two spend a few hours in Lena’s original hometown. She shows Kara the local bakery and the two enjoy a quaint and delicious breakfast together. She walks Kara around the town, taking it all in, having not been back for many years, but still remembering just how cozy she used to feel here. It’s close to the feeling she has being with Kara, but not quite the same.

Their next stop are some ancient ruins in Costa Rica, hidden deep in the forest and dense jungle. Lena tells Kara about her time exploring the ruins with Andrea, and how, despite not finding the medallion at the time, it was one of her fondest memories because she was out there, being the best version of herself. It was a time in her life when she had been full of hope that she could change her brother, and the world. Kara listens intensely as Lena tells her the story, relishing in hearing about Lena’s past, about how she has always been so kindhearted and loving.

And finally, the two women make their way back over the Atlantic Ocean, landing at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Which to Kara’s surprise, is empty with the exception of a table for two. “How did you…” she trails off, baffled as she sees all the food on the table. “I figured after all the flying; you’d be hungry. Plus, I might have rented out the top of the tower for the night.”

“How…”

“Kara, I am a Luthor. We make things happen. Also, with enough money, anything is possible.” Kara laughs as she signals for Lena to sit down, helping her slide her chair in before taking her own seat across from Lena. The two enjoy a delicious dinner, which includes several extra servings for Kara.

It’s on her second dessert that Kara finally asks, “So, why Paris?” Lena smiles softly. “This is the one place that hasn’t been tainted by what my name is. I like to come here when I need to reset, when I need to reevaluate my actions and motives, to make sure I am staying on the track I want to be on and not the path the baggage of having my last name is trying to put me on.”

“So, are you saying that if you had come here when you found out I was Supergirl… I mean, if I had known, I would have dropped you off here myself.” Both women smile as Lena shakes her head. “Nice try, Ms. Danvers, but we both know I had to save myself during that time.” Lena stands up then and walks over to Kara slowly as she continues to talk. “There was another reason I brought you here.” Kara eyes her closely as she takes the last bite of her dessert. Lena takes the last step to Kara and bends down onto a knee. “I wanted to ask you to marry me, Kara. And what better place to ask you such a question than the city of love itself. So, will you, Kara Danvers-”  
  


She doesn’t let Lena finish. “Yes! Absolutely yes.” Kara pulls Lena up and stands up herself, pulling Lena into a hug and smothering her with kisses all over her face. Lena laughs, “Darling, the ring.”

“Oh! Right…” Kara responds sheepishly as she pulls away and brings her left hand up. “You know, on Krypton, we had marital bracelets as a symbol of our eternal connection to our partners.”

“Well, I expect we will have those too, then.” Lena says with a bright smile as she slides the ring on Kara’s finger. Kara’s eyes go wide, never expecting someone to be so open to her own traditions and customs. She pulls Lena in again for another long kiss.

As the two land back in National City late that evening, Kara and Lena make their way to Kara’s bed. As they snuggle up together, Kara whispers, “This has been the best day of my life, Lee.”

She feels Lena smiling into her chest. “That was the plan, Darling.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few years later…

“Lee! She’s doing it! She’s doing it!” Kara exclaims ecstatically. Lena laughs, “I see, Darling. I’m getting it on my phone.” The two watch excitedly as Kiera takes her first steps, walking on her own for the first time, a look of shear determination on her face as she does so. Her expression a clearly inherited trait from Kara.

“I can’t believe she is walking already,” Lena says, stopping the video. “When do you think she will… you know… fly?” Kara chuckles as she responds, “Clark’s kids didn’t show powers until they were teenagers. So, we hopefully have a while.” Lena picks up Kiera and sits down beside Kara with her. “Thank goodness. Because this one is already a go getter, I can tell.” Kara brushes a lose strand of hair behind Lena’s ear. “She gets that from you, Lee.”

The three snuggle in on the couch together as a child’s movie plays on the screen that none of them are actually watching. They are too busy being caught up in each other to notice.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sometime shortly after that…

Lena still had the major merger of Lcorp to tend with. And try as she might, it required much of her attention, causing her to come home most nights much later than she usually did. And the frustration was clear for Kara as the weeks progressed and nothing changed. But Kara remembers watching herself and Lena in the future. And so, she employs a different tactic this time.

It’s another day where Lena glances at the clock and grimaces when she sees it is after 8pm. “Kara is gonna kill me…” she says to herself in her empty office. But in that moment, she hears the familiar sound of boots landing on her balcony. She turns to find Kara, smiling and carrying a bag of Big Belly Burger. As Kara enters her office, she says to Lena, “I figured you would be hungry. And before you ask, Eliza is keeping Kiera tonight. So, it’s just us.” Lena practically melts in Kara’s arms as she hugs her, giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek. “You are too good to me. I don’t deserve you.” The two make their way over to the couch and Kara starts unpacking the food. “You put up with my random adventures that can take me away for days at a time. It’s only fair that I repay the favor. Besides, you said it yourself, once this merger goes through, you’ll be able to take a step back for a while.” Lena’s eyes glimmer with tears. “Thank you for understanding Darling. I mean it. I know this has been tough on you, balancing Catco with being Supergirl and taking care of Kiera. I promise it won’t be like this much longer.”

Kara reaches over and wipes away a stray tear. “I know Sweetie. Now, let’s eat this delicious greasy food.” Lena smiles, lost once again in her love for her wife, practically overwhelmed with the emotion she feels.

Kara of course has plans beyond dinner. And so, as soon as they have both eaten, Kara swoops Lena up and takes her home to show her just how much she is cared and loved.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few more years later…

“Lee, he is here.” Kara says, hearing Alex’s heartbeat coming up the elevator with Liam. Both women head towards the door, having been pacing around the penthouse for the past thirty minutes, awaiting his arrival. It took some time, but they were finally able to locate Liam, who had been hidden away by Lex several years prior. “Remember Kara, he won’t have the memories we have.” She gives Kara’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Kara and Lena open the door as Alex approaches with the child. His eyes wide as he takes in the surroundings, clinging to Alex’s leg with one hand. Lena and Kara smile softly at him. Lena bends down so she is eye level with him. “Hi, Liam. My name is Lena. And this is Kara. We are your parents. Your mothers.” Liam shoots Alex a look. She nods, affirming what Lena is telling him. Alex was the first person Liam met after being rescued, so he naturally formed a bond with her, trusting her to take care of him in this new world he was being thrust into.

“Would you and Alex like to come inside?” Kara asks, giving Liam some semblance of autonomy for the first time in his life. He eyes Kara and Lena curiously, taking in their appearances, and noting how his hair is the same color as Kara’s and his eyes are the same shade of green as Lena’s. He finally bobs his head up and down.

Once inside, Lena leads him into the living room while Kara goes down the hallway to get Kiera. She is a few years older than him, though neither of them knows about the disastrous future that was almost created. All this Kiera knows is that Lena, Kara, and Alex rescued Liam and that he is her biological half-brother. They decided to do introductions with Kara and Lena before bringing Kiera into the room, so not to overwhelm him. Now that he is getting settled in the living room (with plenty of food and candy, they made sure), they want to bring Kiera out to meet him. Secretly, both Lena and Kara hope that having another child might help him open up to them. 

It takes Liam a short time to warm up and speak to Lena and Kara. They are patient, understanding that he has had quite a different upbringing, and one that he doesn’t appear to be interested in sharing. With the help of Kelly, they do find an excellent child psychologist who works with him for the next year, helping him adjust to his new environment.

As Liam and Kiera enter their teenage years, their powers manifest and they begin training with their parents and the other Superfriends. And even with this different future, in their first real fight, Lena still tells Liam to trust himself. It’s a significant moment, as Lena and Kara take a backseat as Liam and Kiera lead the charge. And it’s something that Lena and Kara will always cherish.

Eventually, Lena and Kara retire completely from the hero business. Kiera grows up to take up the mantle at Lcorp while Liam takes after Kara and gets into media. His passion is found with photography, preferring to be behind the camera and not in front of it. And with his uncanny ability to be places quite quickly, he goes on to get some of the best, most celebrated photos of his time. Liam and Kiera continue the Superhero legacy in National City while Lena and Kara retire to Ireland. They leave behind the hustle and bustle of the city life, of being heroes, of being leaders in their fields. Instead, they choose to live in a small cottage in the woods, nearby Lena’s hometown. They do many things they never had time to do before, things that they had always wanted to do, if life had ever slowed down for them. Lena teaches Kara how to garden and cook. Kara teaches Lena how to meditate and pray, how to just be. Liam and Kiera join them for dinner every Sunday, pending any superhero emergencies. The four of them catching up, Liam and Kiera asking for advice on their respective careers and on various issues that arise from being heroes. All-in-all, it is quite the idyllic family. And perhaps exactly how it was supposed to be all along.

As for Lena and Kara, one could often find them a short distance from their cottage (short for a Kryptonian who can fly), sitting on the edge of the world, near the Cliffs of Moher, feet dangling over the sea, watching the sunset, wrapped up in each other’s arms, thankful for how their life together turned out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone should go see the Cliffs of Moher at least once in their life. It is an AMAZING sight to behold. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. When I wrote Part I, I never imaged it would become what it did. But I am so glad the story evolved the way it did. I was given the opportunity to explore these characters in a really fun and unique way. And I really hope you all come back around for my other stories, because I have several ideas that I maybe already have started writing... :)

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think. I'm excited to finally be bringing this story back for everyone. :) As always, come yell at me on twitter or instagram @forever_angsty.


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